BBC apologies after pornographic noise interrupts live FA Cup coverage

The BBC has apologised after pornographic noises interrupted live television coverage of the FA Cup.

Loud moaning was heard while Gary Lineker presented the third-round replay between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool on Tuesday (January 17).

Confirming it to be an “amusing” prank, Lineker later shared a picture of a mobile phone that he said was “taped to the back of the set”.

“We apologise to any viewers offended during the live coverage of the football this evening,” the BBC said.

Lineker laughed off the prank as he presented the pre-match coverage in a studio at Wolverhampton’s Molineux Stadium, alongside pundits Paul Ince and Danny Murphy.

“Somebody’s sending something on someone’s phone, I think. I don’t know whether you heard it at home,” he said, before handing over to former England striker Alan Shearer in the commentary gantry.

When the match started, Lineker shared a picture of the mobile phone with three laughing emojis. “Well, we found this taped to the back of the set,” he wrote. “As sabotages go it was quite amusing.”

Later on Tuesday, Lineker appeared on BBC’s Newsnight and explained that he initially thought a video had been sent to one of the pundits’ phones. However, he soon realised it was a prank.

Asked how loud the audio was in the studio, Lineker said he was unable to hear what anyone was saying in his ear, making it “quite difficult” to carry on with the coverage.

However, the broadcaster still saw the funny side of the prank and questioned why the BBC had to apologise.

“We’ve certainly got nothing to [be sorry] for,” he said. “If you told me this morning that tonight I’d be onNewsnight talking about a porn scandal, I would have been terrified,” he added, laughing.

YouTube prankster Daniel Jarvis has claimed credit for the prank, sharing a video on Twitter that appeared to show him at Molineux.

Jarvis is currently serving a two-year ban from all sports venues after being handed a suspended sentence last October. The prankster was convicted of aggravated trespass for invading the Oval cricket ground and colliding with England cricketer Jonny Bairstow.

In other news, Wrexham AFC co-owner Rob McElhenney had to find out about his team’s shock FA Cup victory against Coventry City via social media, after US TV coverage failed.

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