Was goal blackout sabotage? Bookmakers gave odds on break in ITV transmission that let fans miss England score

 

 

By Colin Fernandez and Charles Sale

 

 

Last updated at 7:11 AM on 14th June 2010

 

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A betting scam may have been behind ITV's embarrassing failure to screen England's first goal of the World Cup on its high-definition channel.

A car advert interrupted coverage for 1.5million viewers just before Steven Gerrard scored in Saturday night's group game against the U.S.

When the action resumed, the England players were already celebrating their fourth-minute lead.

 

TV nightmare: ITV HD missed Steven Gerrard's opening World Cup England goal against America

 

 

The break in coverage would have paid off for gamblers that took up Paddy Power's odds of 8-1 that an ITV live game would be interrupted.

The fact that HDTV broadcasts are screened four seconds later than conventional TV also fuelled conspiracy theories.

A saboteur could have seen England score on a regular TV channel and then pulled the plug to take advantage of the fact an HD viewer would not have known England were ahead.

Adrian Chiles, who was presenting ITV's coverage, apologised at half time for the glitch which came three minutes and 26 seconds into the game.

Chiles, who was poached by ITV from the BBC in a multi-million pound deal, said: 'Apologies for those watching in HD, I believe there was some interruption in your coverage.'

The social networking site Twitter was quickly flooded with complaints from irate viewers.

One poster, Sheffield_UK, wrote: 'ITV black out the England goal and spoil the whole evening.'

Another, called Paul-Durand, said: 'ITV HD is a joke. First England goal of the World Cup, and there was a Hyundai advert on.'

 

 

ITV host Adrian Chiles apologised at half time for the glitch which came three minutes and 26 seconds into the game

 

ITV yesterday said it believed human error at Technicolor, an outside company, was to blame.

An ITV spokesman said: 'ITV Sport's production team in South Africa, who have produced high quality coverage throughout the tournament, were in no way responsible.'

Richard Cross, ITV's group technology director, said: 'We apologise unreservedly to viewers for the unacceptable interruption to high-definition coverage of the match.

'We met with Technicolor first thing this morning to put in place measures to address the issue and to ensure that Technicolor takes the appropriate action with immediate effect.'

ITV's technical competence was questioned last year when it failed to show the crucial winning goal at the end of a tense FA Cup tie between Everton and Liverpool.

The channel switched to an automated ad break as eventual finalists Everton scored the winning goal in the 118th minute against their Merseyside rivals.

 

 

 

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The former chairman of ITV, Michael Grade, was forced to issue an apology for the 'inexcusable glitch' and 'unprecedented transmission error'.

He added: 'We're still trying to figure out how it happened and there may be a few yellow and red cards following this.'

Of the latest howler, a spokesman for Paddy Power said it had taken around a dozen bets, mainly of £5 and £10, on the coverage being interrupted.

He added: 'We didn't think we would have to pay out as soon as the first England match.'

 

 

Shocked England fans in Newcastle react to goalkeeper Robert Green's blunder

 

The World Cup was seen as a key test for the HD technology - with broadcasting watchdog Ofcom promising the biggest development in sport coverage since the 1970 World Cup was screened in colour.

ITV is to broadcast 32 live games through the tournament including England's next game against Algeria at 7.30pm on Friday.

The BBC will screen the final group game against Slovenia, then it will have the pick of the round of 16 and quarter-final games.

If England reach the semi-final, both channels will show the game and both will show the final.

Technicolor spokesman Suzanne Munton said yesterday: 'This error originated from the London playout centre where Technicolor provides broadcast television playout services on behalf of ITV plc.

'Technicolor deeply regrets this incident and its impact on ITV and its viewers. Investigations are continuing as a matter of the utmost urgency in order to ensure the issues are addressed with immediate effect.'

 

 

 

Too late: Robert Green desperately lunges backward to try to undo his mistake

 

I'll be a man about this says calamity keeper who pens poems in his spare time

 

By EMILY ANDREWS and CHRISTIAN GYSIN

 

Robert playing golf yesterday at the Lost City, near Rustenburg in South Africa

 

Robert Green put a brave face on his appalling World Cup blunder yesterday and insisted he is ready to wear the England goalkeeping jersey again.

 

Speaking about the mistake that gifted the U.S. an equaliser on Saturday night, he said: 'This makes me more determined to play next time, to right the wrong.

 

'You want to be a man about it and you want to stand up. You want to be tested.

 

'Playing lovely football and making wonderful saves is not a challenge. This is a challenge and this is why you are a footballer. It's how you bounce back.

 

'It was a mistake. The important thing in the game is to not let it affect you for the rest [of the game], however long is left.

 

'I know I'm going to get flak for it but so be it. I'm strong enough to take it, strong enough to move on, and will do, and be ready for the next game if selected.'

 

Green looked distraught after the match, which ended 1-1. Some onlookers suggested his red eyes showed he had been holding back tears.

Team-mates Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Peter Crouch helped take his mind off things by playing a round of golf in Sun City yesterday.

 

Terry said: 'It's just one of those things, it's a shame it happened to Robert.

 

'We'll be able to pick him up - we're in this together. We've been away for a long time and hopefully we've got a long time to be together still. Mistakes happen.'

 

Family and friends have also rallied round. Green's parents, Steve and Jackie, have been in constant contact from their £500,000 detached home in Woking, Surrey.

 

 

Mr Green, a retired hospital consultant, encouraged his only son to carry on with his academic qualifications despite his early footballing promise.

So Green gained ten GCSEs, studied law and psychology and thought twice before giving up his studies in favour of the professional career that started at Norwich City Football Club 12 years ago.

 

Alongside playing for West Ham United and England, Green finds time to write poetry and claims to have storylines for a dozen or so novels mapped out.

 

Model image: Elizabeth Minett dated Robert Green for two years

 

He also has ambitions as a sports journalist and has already written columns for newspapers.

 

He once said: 'A footballer's job stimulates you a lot physically, but not mentally. It's very much tunnel vision.

 

'There's no real spectrum of life - not real life, anyway - and it's good to have something else to focus on. While I was up in Norwich, I went to night school to do a couple of A-levels and studied psychology for a year and law for a year.'

 

But in one area of his life at least - dating beautiful women - Green is more of a stereotypical footballer. He went out with model Sarah Thomas, 30, for almost ten years after they met in their teens. They were even dubbed Norfolk's Posh and Becks while he was playing for Norwich.

 

He moved on to a brief liaison with society girl-about-town Emma Sayle, who runs London lap-dance club Secrets and organises upmarket parties for wealthy clients on her Killing Kittens website.

 

More recently Green has been in a relationship with Canadian lingerie model Elizabeth Minett.

 

The 23-year-old year met Green in Toronto two years ago when West Ham toured Canada.

 

The economics graduate moved to London to live with him, and they shared a stunning Thames-view apartment on the Isle of Dogs in East London.

 

Friends say however that they split up just before Green's call-up to the England squad and his departure to South Africa for the World Cup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286381/WORLD-CUP-2010-Was-goal-blackout-sabotage-Bookmakers-gave-odds-break-ITV-transmission-let-fans-miss-England-score.html#ixzz0qo19rr3M

If they wanted sabotage why wait til the England Goal and not at another point during the game?

 

Unless it was an American with the button ;)

If they wanted sabotage why wait til the England Goal and not at another point during the game?

 

Unless it was an American with the button ;)

 

Who knows? It depends on which bookies were running the show!:rolleyes: