Prince William and Rishi Sunak led the tributes yesterday to legendary football commentator John Motson, after his death aged 77. Dubbed the “voice of football”, he called the sport’s biggest moments during a remarkable 50-year career.
Thousands of fans took to social media to share stories about Motty, his trademark sheepskins and his many moments of broadcasting gold.
Annie, his wife of 45 years, and son Fred announced in a statement that he had passed away peacefully in his sleep.
Prince William, who is FA President and a keen Aston Villa fan, said: “Very sad to hear about the passing of John Motson – a legend whose voice was football. My thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Prime Minister Mr Sunak’s spokesman said: “He was a legend of the game.
“He was the voice of football for millions of people across the country. He will be deeply missed by fans and the entirety of the football community.”
Former England striker and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker said he was “deeply saddened” to hear of his former colleague’s death.
He added: “A quite brilliant commentator and voice of football in this country for generations. He’ll be very much missed.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie said: “Like all the greats behind the mic, John had the right words at the right time, for all the big moments.”
Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher said: “So many of us grew up listening to this man describing the action and goals.”
Fellow commentators recalled how he set the standard for them while taking viewers and listeners through 2,500 matches before his retirement five years ago.
Motty worked on 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships, 29 FA Cup finals and more than 200 England internationals.
Ex-ITV commentator Jim Rosenthal called his friend of five decades the “king of the football mic”.
He added: “There are so many football commentators now that it’s very hard for anyone to grip the nation as Motty did.”
Sky Sports’ Martin Tyler said: “John was the standard-setter for us all. We basically all looked up to him – his diligence, his dedication, his knowledge.
“He was a very serious broadcaster but he was a real fun guy to be around.”
Long-time ITV commentator Clive Tyldesley tweeted: “As a teenager, I just wanted to be John Motson. Nobody else.”
A Methodist minister’s son, Motty was educated at Culford School, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and started out as a news reporter in Barnet and Sheffield in the 1960s.
His broadcasting break came when he called the action during lowly Hereford United’s 1972 FA Cup win over giants Newcastle United. After Ronnie Radford’s famous long-range goal turned the game in the minnows’ favour, Motty captured the excitement with the exclamation: “Oh, what a goal!”
Years later, he greeted the end of the memorable 1988 FA Cup final, which saw Wimbledon defeat Liverpool 1-0, with the line: “The Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club!”
Motty summed up what every England fan was thinking when Paul Gascoigne was reduced to tears after picking up a yellow card as England played West Germany in the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup.
Realising, like every viewer, that he would miss the final if the Three Lions won, Motty said: “Oh dear… oh dear me.”
Of his legendary sheepskin coats, he once said: “I didn’t set out to make the sheepskin coat anything special. But it just happened when I was at Wycombe in 1990 and the snow came down. Even when it is warm, people ask where the coat is.”
Motty was presented with a Bafta in 2018 in recognition of his contribution to sports broadcasting and was made an OBE in the 2001 Birthday Honours.
For all the latest Entertainment News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
