Complaint
During a pitch invasion towards the end of the Hearts v Celtic match, the commentator Pat Nevin said two or three Celtic fans had punched the Hearts Captain. Three listeners complained this was untrue. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy.
Outcome
The scenes at the end of the match were chaotic, and Mr Nevin and his co-commentators were trying to give listeners an impression of events as they unfolded, with no opportunity for verification before speaking. Mr Nevin subsequently acknowledged that he should not have stated definitively that the Hearts Captain had been punched by Celtic fans. The ECU accepted that this was an honest error made in the heat of the moment, but concluded that it fell below the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy.
Upheld
Further action
The finding was reported to the management of BBC Sport. On his own initiative, Mr Nevin apologised for the error on air on two occasions, and again in his BBC Sport newsletter.
