Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys has blasted Premier League chiefs for not doing enough to mark the recent death of legendary commentator John Motson, who died last week at the age of 77 on a sad day for football. Motson was one of the game’s best-loved broadcasters and was the voice of the sport for generations of UK viewers thanks to his 50-year stint working for the BBC.
Some clubs held periods of silence or applause in recognition of Motson before kick-off in the latest round of top-flight fixtures, but Keys was left disappointed with a perceived lack of action from the Premier League as a whole and has called for a collective tribute to be made at the second time of asking this weekend.
“Sadly the PL did nothing last weekend to mark his passing,” wrote Keys in his latest blog post on his website. “I know we can’t stop for a moment’s silence – or tribute with applause – every time someone passes – but come on – we should have done for Motty. The guy is a legend.”
Keys also paid his own tribute to Motson with a few words about the man himself, who has been widely hailed across the world of football since his death on Thursday as a result of his much-loved contribution to the sport over the last five decades.
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“The voice of a generation,” added Keys. “Perfect. That was the best description of the legendary BBC commentator that I read last week. As I’m writing I still can’t believe that he isn’t still with us.
“I don’t really have much to add to the thousands of lovely words that have already been written. I think it’s all been covered. He was a terrific guy – not the best footballer I’ve ever played with – but he tried!
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“He was a central figure in the commentators’ XI that a lot of us used to play for – shuffling about at full-back but totally committed – just like he was to everything that he did – but football came first. My memories of Motty make me smile.”
Motson spent 47 years working on Match of the Day and was also trusted with working the microphone for every major final on the BBC, from the Champions League to the World Cup, from 1971 until 2008. He was awarded an OBE for services to sports broadcasting in 2001 and was one of the most recognisable voices on TV until his retirement five years ago.
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