Sky Sports retracts comments on Scottish football by Jamie O’Hara
Sky Sports has withdrawn a controversial segment from its platforms following widespread criticism over remarks made by pundit Jamie O’Hara about Scottish football, reports BritPanorama.
The former Tottenham and Wolverhampton midfielder sparked outrage during a Sky Sports News debate when he claimed that League One team Stockport County could win the Scottish Premiership title.
The contentious exchange occurred during a discussion with Celtic podcaster Paul John Dykes regarding the club’s search for a new manager after the departure of Brendan Rodgers last month. Columbus Crew coach Wilfried Nancy was mentioned as a potential candidate for the managerial position at Celtic Park.
O’Hara challenged Celtic’s stature as a significant club, alleging they had been “custard pied” by potential managerial candidates and questioning their appeal. “You cannot tell me you are a big club when you are looking at a manager from the MLS,” he stated during the debate.
He referenced Opta’s global league rankings, which placed the Scottish Premiership 39th in the world, below England’s League One. “You can’t get away from the fact you are the 39th ranked league in the world, which is pretty shocking,” O’Hara remarked, before asserting that Stockport County would claim the Scottish championship.
Dykes firmly rejected O’Hara’s assertions, describing them as “nonsense” and asserting, “You have made a fool of yourself, Jamie.”
The discussion prompted significant backlash on social media from Scottish football supporters, who expressed outrage following the broadcast. One fan remarked that it illustrated how Sky Sports treated Scottish football as a “2nd class citizen,” while another criticized the segment as an “unprofessional hit job” on their national game.
This controversy takes on added weight given Sky Sports’ substantial financial commitment to Scottish football, with a broadcasting agreement worth £30 million annually, extended in 2022, which grants rights to televise 60 Scottish Premiership matches each season through to the 2028/29 campaign.
Supporters highlighted the irony in a Sky Sports employee disparaging content that his network pays considerable sums to broadcast. “What got me was this is a Sky Sports pundit saying this. Bearing in mind Sky does invest in Scottish football, albeit you might argue not enough, but they do,” noted one viewer, expressing frustration about “one of their own slating a product that we pay through the nose to watch on their channels.”
In the world of football, how often pundits cross the line between critique and disrespect can define the conversation long after the sound bites fade, echoing across the sport’s passionate fanbases.
