Legendary football commentator John Motson has died at the age of 77.
He was the voice of the BBC for five decades, covering 10 World Cups and 29 FA Cup finals before retiring in 2018.
Motson – who was awarded an OBE for sports broadcasting in 2001 – covered more than 2-and-half-thousand televised matches during his career. His final game for Match of the Day was between Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion in 2018.
As an Irish fan, who can forget his voice when Ireland equalised against Germany in the 2002 World Cup. Spine-tingling.
Underrated John Motson moment (which most of us in Ireland would have come across only on YouTube years later): “Look at these scenes! Just look at these scenes!”
— Gavan Casey (@GavanCasey) February 23, 2023
RIP pic.twitter.com/dZ8yIQhYDS
Motson originally began his career in newspaper before getting on the air in 1968 with BBC Radio One. It was 1972 though when Match of the Day gave him top billing for his commentary of Ronnie Radfords goal for Hereford against Newcastle in the FA Cup.
The moment that made John Motson.
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) February 23, 2023
Rest in peace to a footballing legend pic.twitter.com/kGBG1eeDet