Sky commentator Martin Tyler accused of 'racist' comment about Tottenham’s Son Heung-min

Martin Tyler has been called out for a 'racist' comment he made about Son Heung-min over the weekend.

The Tottenham striker was playing against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday (30 April) in a vital match for both sides.

And it turned into a feisty affair, with plenty of fouls and controversy as the Scousers came out on top, winning with a last minute strike from Diogo Jota to clinch the three points 4-3.

At one point, Sky commentator Tyler remarked on a fairly innocuous foul from Son against Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo.

During the passage of play, the South Korean star was chasing down his Dutch counterpart down as he made a break away.

And in a cynical attempt to stop the attack, Son pulled on Gakpo's jersey, a move which Tyler likened to 'martial arts'.

PA Images/Alamy

However, while the 77-year-old is no stranger to making a poor joke here and there - 'De Bruyne, De Gea, De-erby' was a personal low - lots of fans felt his remarks were offensive.

Taking to social media, one viewer said: "Just rewatching the match, and Martin Tyler definitely made a comment when Son got booked about it being ‘martial arts’. I’m the last person to fake outrage about something tongue in cheek but that’s not on surely?"

Another commented: "Martin Tyler associating Son with martial arts???"

"Did I just hear Martin Tyler refer to Son’s tackle as ‘martial arts’ like?" asked a third. "Are we not taking that as a racist comment?"

While someone else added: "Did the commentator Martin Tyler just say 'More of the Martial arts' about the Son challenge?

"Would he have said that about a non-Asian player?"

PA Images/Alamy

Not everyone was so outraged by Tyler's description of the incident, though.

Some believed that it was a fairly innocent, if ill-thought-out, comment, but that it didn't warrant the backlash.

"Far from a fan of Martin Tyler but to throw racism allegations at the bloke for making a completely meaningless comment about martial arts and Son Heung-min is pathetic slander," said one.

"Honestly this snowflake society makes me sick."

A spokesperson for SkySports confirmed that Tyler had been spoken to about the incident and that he meant nothing by it.

"Martin Tyler has been reminded of need for care with his wording," they said. "No offence was intended."

LADbible has contacted Sky for further comment.

Topics: UK News, Sport, Football

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom