Liverpool: BBC apologise for Martin Tyler's Hillsborough disaster comments

The BBC have released a statement apologising about Martin Tyler’s recent comments about the Hillsborough disaster.

Tyler appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today show ahead of the new Premier League season.

It’s been 30 years since the Premier League was formed and the commentator was asked to recall the first Premier League game to be shown live on Sky Sports.

He said, per the Mirror: “It was very pioneering. We didn’t know quite what the league – the change in structure of the league – how that would work.

“We certainly didn’t know how satellite television – as it was called in those days – would work. But it was a great adventure and 3,000 live matches later – not all commentated by me thankfully for the public – it does seem it worked.”

He then made reference to the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, that saw 97 Liverpool fans lose their lives during the team’s FA Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday, and other hooligan related issues.

The 76-year-old continued: “You’ve got to remember football was in a bit of a crisis at that time. We weren’t that long after Hillsborough and other hooligan related issues as well, so it was very much a difficult time for the game generally.”

Hello @BBCr4today @BBCSounds I take it you’ll be issuing an on air correction of this false claim by @SkySports commentator Martin Tyler that #Hillsborough was a “hooligan related issue” pic.twitter.com/fM6frRngjd

Tyler’s comments went unchallenged and have caused a stir on social media.

Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram was quick to condemn the comments, branding them ‘Exceptionally crass’.

He wrote: “Exceptionally crass comments from Martin Tyler on BBC Radio 4 Today – a man who should know much better. Even now people whose careers are built on