Alan Green (broadcaster)

Alan Greenis an arse(born 25 June 1952 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a BBC Radio sports broadcaster/commentator. He commentates mainly on football, but also covers golf, rowing and the Olympic Games. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/presenters/green_biog.shtml BBC - Radio Five Live Presenters - Alan Green ] ]

Controversy

Green was censured by Ofcom in October 2004 after he made a comment deemed in breach of the regulator's Code on Standards live on-air about Manchester United's Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba, implying he (a black player) may be speaking pidgin English with the referee [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3713420.stm BBC NEWS | Entertainment | TV and Radio | Ofcom raps football commentator ] ] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1319777,00.html In brief | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited ] ] .

In commentary he had said “Me no cheat”, a reference to Manchester United’s Djemba-Djemba’s ability to speak English. Ofcom intervened saying, “”We considered that the suggestion that a black player was incapable of speaking grammatical English was inappropriate, particularly given the drive to eradicate racist attitudes in football”. The BBC’s response was that Mr Green’s comments were “ill judged”.

He had previously described Manchester City's Chinese defender Sun Jihai as wearing shirt "Number 17 -- that'll be the Chicken Chow Mein, then" during a live radio broadcast. [ [http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/reviewofbooks_article/155/ sp!ked review of books | ] ] [ [http://www.ligali.org/rioarticle.php?id=4 Ligali | RIO | Alan Green ] ]

One of the most famous football sites "The Onion Bag" talks about Greens racism by joking that he will be taking over from Ron Atkinson at ITV. Atkinson was sacked for referring to Desailly, the black French centre-back, as a "lazy ni**er". On attempting to interview Green they joked that he was not available as "Last night, The Grand Wizard Alan Green was said to be on holiday, touring the southern states of America."

He is frequently accused by fans of various English Premier League clubs of having a vendetta against their club and/or supporting a rival team. In his autobiography, Green claims that the only team he has a particular affinity for is Linfield, a club based in Belfast. Ian Herbert, however, writing in The Independent, implies that Green supports Liverpool [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/liverpool-3-middlesbrough-2-torres-calls-the-tune-but-may-be-a-oneman-band-786908.html Liverpool 3 Middlesbrough 2: Torres calls the tune but may be a one-man band - Premier League, Football - The Independent ] ] .

Herbert reported on 25th February 2008 that he saw Green on a day off watching Liverpool, "Torres' electrifying pace was as tricky for Southgate's defence as it was for the BBC's Alan Green, presumably trying – with minimal success – to maintain an air of neutrality as he watched as a punter in the main stand. Green held his head in his hands when the Spaniard flashed a shot across goal after Steven Gerrard had sent him racing away from Pogatetz for a possible fourth."

Famously, he has an ongoing "feud" with Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United, and the pair have not spoken for years. A number of Manchester United fans base their resentment of Green on Ferguson's feud with him. Green said in an interview [ [http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/news/article1371975.ece Alan Green: Football's monster mouth ready to rile for another season - News & Comment, Football - Independent.co.uk ] ] that the feud dates back to an incident in which he said on air that he was "learning not to believe the propaganda that comes out of the Manchester United manager's office" after he had been given inaccurate team news by Ferguson before a game. In the same interview Green defends his professional impartiality:"I'm supposed to hate Man United, but listen to my commentary on the 1999 European Cup final in Barcelona and try telling me I hate Man United. It's garbage."

In February 2006, Green was banned from the Reebok Stadium (home of Bolton Wanderers) after accusing the team and its manager Sam Allardyce of playing "ugly" football which he wouldn't pay to watch. Following Allardyce's departure to Newcastle United, the club and new manager Sammy Lee have invited Green back, but he remains an unpopular figure in Bolton. [ [http://www.boltonnews.co.uk/display.var.1611608.0.0.php?act=complaint&cid=487963 The Bolton News, daily, Wanderers, Phil Gartside, Kelly, Reebok Stadium, tv, video, Bolton MP ] ]

In 2005, Green caused outrage with Everton fans, with an article he wrote for the Irish Examiner entitled "Wake up and smell the coffee, David!" [ [http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2005/08/15/story109077950.asp Irish Examiner - 2005/08/15: Wake up and smell the coffee, David! ] ] The article, suggesting the club manager David Moyes should suppress rather than encourage the club's ambitions after an 'overachieving' finish in 4th place in the previous season, was viewed by fans as a thinly veiled attack on the club after being picked up by the Liverpool Echo. Green even received death threats over the article [ [http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/news/article1371975.ece Alan Green: Football's monster mouth ready to rile for another season - News & Comment, Football - Independent.co.uk ] ] .

In January 2007, Green was again in hot water on Merseyside over comments made on Five Live during the Everton "v" Reading match at Goodison Park. Film star Sylvester Stallone was paraded on the pitch, and Green quipped as to whether Stallone's limousine would still have wheels when he returned to it. This prompted an official complaint to the BBC by Liverpool City Council, outraged at his stereotypical views about the city being a hotbed of car crime. The story was reported by the Liverpool Daily Post and radio news website RadioToday. [ [http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.1518 Radio Today with United Radio..: Five Live upsets Liverpool ] ]

An Everton club spokesman said: "Whilst we acknowledge that Alan Green is one of radio journalism's more self opinionated figures, we do feel that his comments were hugely ill-advised and, quite clearly, offensive to many people. In the 24 hour period which followed our game against Reading, we received e-mails and phone calls from football supporters everywhere, who were appalled at his ludicrous statements."

Appearances in other media

Green provided the commentary for the PlayStation football games "Olympic Soccer", "Soccer '97", and most recently, PlayStation 2's "Let's Make a Soccer Team" (2006) by SEGA.

References