Mark Lawrenson claims he was sacked by the BBC because he is a 'white male'

Former BBC Sport presenter Mark Lawrenson has said he thinks his departure from the BBC was down to him being '65 and a white male'.

The ex-Liverpool defender had spent three decades with the corporation, including 25 years with Football Focus, before being told of the show's format changes in March.

Lawrenson told The Sunday Times : 'The Beeb are probably the worst at giving you bad news. It was just, "We are going on the road next season with Focus. We don’t think it is really something for you."

READ MORE: Greater Manchester borough by borough weather forecast as temperatures to dip with 'significant' winds

'I haven’t watched the programme since to see if they have gone on the road. They forget you are an ex-footballer and could get subbed or dropped or transferred. Somebody could say to me, "I’m sorry, it’s not good news.’ And I would say, "OK, just tell me what it is."

'I just wish they had said to me at the start of my contract last year, ‘You’ve had a great run, thanks very much and you are not working next season."'

Lawrenson revealed he should have thought about leaving the show when host Dan Walker left his hosting duties after 12 years in 2021.

While initially vexed with Walker's replacement, ex-England and Arsenal player Alex Scott, he came around to supporting her.

'Alex was just thrown in, so from the outset we were trying to make the programme as easy as possible for her,' he said.

'It was a little bit frustrating because she would ask you a question and then move on to the next person and I would want to say something I had just thought of, but I just had to shut up because she was just learning.

'She has done well in fairness to her and she is a lovely kid. It’s a tough gig, because Dan was so good.