Football
Clive Tyldesley says football commentators should be able to use forbidden word
Few footballing voices are as recogniseable as Clive Tyldesley and the legendary commentator would love to see his colleagues given the opportunity to say one word to elevate their work
Legendary commentator Clive Tyldesley says those in the job should be allowed to say ‘f***’ – when the occasion demands it.
“Sometimes it’s the only word that will do,” said Tyldesley on the Football Authorities podcast. The 69-year-old will know better than most having enjoyed a career nearing it’s 40th year.
Tyldesley was ITV‘s senior football commentator from 1998 until 2020 and led the broadcaster’s efforts for five World Cups and five European Championships. Tyldesley, who was the voice of EA Sports’ FIFA series for more than a decade, departed ITV when Sam Matterface was appointed senior commentator in his place, but continued his career with CBS Sports and Amazon Prime.
A veteran of 17 Champions League finals, Tyldesley nevertheless believes that the significance of some moments could have been elevated if we was allowed to explicit language to his repertoire. Though, the privilege should be confined to truly special moments.
He said: “I just think once a season a commentator should be allowed to use the F-word without losing their job. Some goals, some moments, some misses, simply demand a swear word — the swear word — to capture their full impact.”
Speaking to former Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill, Tyldesley added: “I would need to choose the moment carefully . . . but sometimes you need to say what you see.”
Tyldesley remains with ITV to cover EURO 2024 in Germany. The commentary team making the trip will include Sam Matterface, Seb Hutchinson, Pien Meulensteen and Joe Speight. Co-commentary spots will feature former footballers Lee Dixon, Ally McCoist and Andros Townsend.
Tyldesley has previously spoken of the responsibility he feels to use the right words when commentating.
“Occasionally, I had people say ‘you’ve been the soundtrack of my youth’ and when you’re 68 years of age and maybe not getting as much work as you used to you think ‘is that a compliment or not?’” he told Mirror Football in December 2022. “But the people who make an impression on us when we’re young are people we carry with us through our lives. This notion you need to be 25 to broadcast to 25 year olds, I can’t accept that.
“I’m a parent, I’ve got to be able to communicate with young people. I might have grandchildren one day. You’ve got to be good enough and broad-minded enough and smart enough to work out what the audience is and broadcast to it.”
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