With transfer deadline day once again upon us, there’s a good chance you’ve had your eyes glued to Sky Sports News for updates.
Switching on the news channel is part and parcel for deadline day for millions of football fans, and you may remember back in the day Sky Sports would send its staff out to be on the ground to try and capture any glimpse of a new signing arriving at a training ground.
However, all that came to an end thanks to some swearing, a sex toy and a blow up doll.
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Naturally reporting live outside, where the general public have free access to your reporter and – more importantly – your camera, was always going to lend itself to some problems.
And, back in 2014 while reporting about a potential move of Tom Cleverly from Manchester United to Everton, reporter Alan Irwin was upstaged by a bloke brandishing a purple dildo.
Speaking about the incident afterwards, Irwin said: "Never work with children or animals." Or dildos, right?
He went on: "I think it's one of the hazards of the job, isn't it?" I don’t know mate, but you probably know more about it than I do.
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Summing up the incident, he said: "I do find it quite upsetting that you're talking to these fans in between the live broadcast, then as soon as the light goes on and there's the opportunity for them to interfere – so to speak – they take it.”
As a result, Sky Sports decided to pull its reporters from outside training camps for the transfer deadline day the following year, instead opting for studio-based chat and reporters situated safely inside training grounds, rather than outside where people are free to whip their sex toys out.
But it wasn’t just the sex toy; viewers complained to Ofcom after hearing some fruity language from other football fans.
Reporters were forced to apologise on-air after rowdy fans could be heard outside Selhurst Park chanting: “We f***ing hate Sky Sport," while other fans were seen carrying a blow-up doll.
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A Sky Sports News spokesperson said at the time: “Millions of viewers followed our coverage of transfer deadline day, which included over 270 live reporter updates from outside football clubs over the final 24 hours.
“We apologise to those whose enjoyment was spoiled by a small number of incidents and we’re looking into ways to avoid this happening again in the future whilst ensuring fans remain a key part our live coverage.”
Topics: TV and Film, Sport, Football
Claire Reid