Retirement of John Motson honoured with special night of BBC programming
BBC Two dedicates an evening of programming to mark the retirement of legendary football commentator, John Motson.
Published: 8 May 2018
I’ve been very lucky to have witnessed some incredibly special moments in football and I look forward to sitting down with my family, and many football fans in the country, to look back on the past 50 years
- A special John Motson Twitter emoji will give fans a unique way to celebrate John's remarkable career.
- One off documentary, Motty: The Man Behind The Sheepskin, looks back at Motty’s 50 years behind the mic with special archive footage and interviews.
- Special episode of Mastermind hosted by John along with a programme celebrating his best commentating moments also feature.
- John’s final commentary to take place at Crystal Palace v West Brom on Sunday 13 May.
The BBC will dedicate a night of TV to mark the legendary career of football commentator John Motson as he retires after an incredible 50 years.
Taking place on May 19, BBC Two will pay a fitting tribute to the man who has presided over 10 World Cup finals, 10 European Championships, 29 FA Cup Finals, over 200 England internationals and over 2000 football matches.
Motty: The Man Behind The Sheepskin takes John on a poignant but fun filled journey around the football grounds that have provided the backdrop for so many remarkable commentaries and football stories from this unique broadcaster, famed for his love of a sheepskin coat.
Reliving some of those immortal commentaries and the stories behind them, the programme also hears from those closest to him including his beloved wife Annie and son Fred, plus football legends Gary Lineker, Ian Wright, two of his longest standing co-commentators Sir Trevor Brooking and Mark Lawrenson along with celebrity football fans Noel Gallagher and Sir Rod Stewart.
On the night, Motty Mastermind, sees John take over from John Humphrys as the host of the famous quiz show. With his love of facts and figures, John is the perfect quiz master as he sets to grill Alex Scott, capped 140 times for England and former Arsenal Women’s Captain, former world boxing champion Anthony Crolla, football commentator Jonathan Pearce and record breaking swimmer Mark Foster.
Rounding off the night is Countdown To The Full Motty which sees Match of the Day’s Gary Lineker introduce a special countdown of some of Motty’s greatest football commentaries from over 50 years as a broadcaster.
The evening of special programmes follows what is set to be an exciting day of football on the BBC with Manchester United v Chelsea in the FA Cup Final live on BBC One, kick-off 5.15pm.
John’s final commentary can be heard on May 13 on Match Of The Day as he reports on the action of Crystal Palace v West Brom. On that same evening he will also be presented with the Special Award at the Bafta TV awards taking place at The Royal Albert Hall, live on BBC One from 8pm.
On hanging up his microphone for the last time, John says: “I’m truly humbled that the BBC is dedicating such a special evening to me. I’ve been very lucky to have witnessed some incredibly special moments in football and I look forward to sitting down with my family, and many football fans in the country, to look back on the past 50 years.”
A special Twitter emoji will give fans a unique way to celebrate John's remarkable career. It will go exclusively live on Twitter on May 11 at 11am until May 21 at 11:59pm with John becoming the first ever UK sport broadcaster to have their own bespoke Twitter emoji. To use, Twitter users should simply include any of the following hashtags in a Tweet and John will appear holding that iconic microphone one last time:
ZB
John Motson
- John is one of the best known personalities in sports broadcasting. His contributions include Match of the Day, Grandstand, Football Focus and BBC Radio 5 live regularly since 1968.
- He received an OBE in 2001 for services to Sports Broadcasting.
- After starting out as a sports reporter on Radio 2 in 1968, he made his first major breakthrough on Match of the Day during the iconic FA Cup replay between Hereford and Newcastle and he has been with MOTD since 1971.
- From 1979 to 2008 he was also the BBC's voice on major cup finals such as the FA Cup, European Championships and World Cup. That run included his record-breaking sixth World Cup final in Berlin in 2006 and his 29th FA Cup final in 2008; an achievement not matched by any other commentator.
- His retirement follows fifty consecutive years with the BBC that has seen him cover 10 World Cups, 29 FA Cup finals, 10 European Championships and more than two hundred England games.
