BBC apologises over 'me no cheat' gaffe
The BBC apologised yesterday after a football commentator used pidgin English to suggest what a black player was saying on the pitch.
It said Alan Green's remark on Radio Five Live during Arsenal's clash with Man United in March was 'ill-judged'.
But it claimed the comment was made in the heat of a live broadcast and was meant as 'irreverent banter'.
Green made the gaffe after United's Cameroon international midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba started arguing with the referee.
He suggested to listeners that the player was saying: 'Me no cheat.'
The BBC apology came after media watchdog Ofcom said the comment broke its code of ethics. It added: 'We considered 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 said it had spoken to Mr Green about his language. It pointed out that the commentator had a track record of campaigning against racism.
Pundit Ron Atkinson lost his job with ITV in April after referring to Chelsea's Marcel Desailly as a n****r.
