The BBC has apologized for the fact that due to pornographic noises, the broadcast of the FA Cup was interrupted live.
Loud groans were heard when Gary Lineker presented the third round replay between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool on Tuesday (January 17).
Confirming that it was a “funny” joke, Lineker later shared a photo of a mobile phone, which he said was “taped to the back of the TV.”
“We apologize to all viewers who were offended during the live broadcast of the football match tonight,” the BBC said in a statement.
Lineker laughed at this joke when he presented a pre-match report in the studio at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, along with experts Paul Ince and Danny Murphy.
“Someone is sending something to someone’s phone, I think. I don’t know if you’ve heard it at home,” he said, before passing the floor to former England striker Alan Shearer on the bridge for comment.
When the match started, Lineker shared a mobile phone photo with three laughing emojis. “Well, we found this glued to the back of the TV,” he wrote. “As for the sabotage, it was pretty funny.”
Later on Tuesday, Lineker appeared on the BBC’s Newsnight program and explained that at first he thought the video had been sent to the phone of one of the experts. However, he soon realized that it was a joke.
When asked how loud the sound was in the studio, Lineker said that he could not hear what someone was saying in his ear, which “makes it quite difficult” to continue the report.
However, the presenter still saw the funny side of the prank and asked why the BBC had to apologize.
“We definitely have nothing [to apologize about],” he said. “If you had told me this morning that I would be on Newsnight tonight talking about a porn scandal, I would have been horrified,” he added, laughing.
Youtube prankster Daniel Jarvis took responsibility for the prank by sharing a video on Twitter that apparently shows him in Molineux.
Jarvis is currently serving a two-year ban from all sports venues after he was given a suspended sentence last October. The prankster was found guilty of aggravated trespass for trespassing at the Oval cricket stadium and colliding with England cricketer Jonny Bairstow.
In other news, Wrexham AFC co-owner Rob McElhenny had to find out about his team’s shocking FA Cup victory over Coventry City via social media after American television failed.
