Legendary football commentator John Motson dies aged 77

Football commentator John Motson has died at the age of 77. He spent 50 years of his career with the BBC and received an OBE for services to sports broadcasting.

Commonly known as “Motty”, he held roles at Sheffield Morning Telegraph and BBC Sheffield at the start of his career. He then joined BBC Sport in 1968 and went on to cover 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships and 29 FA Cup finals, as well as numerous Champions League matches and European Championships.

He also worked on BBC’s Match of the Day from 1971 onwards and commentated on thousands of Premier League matches, becoming an ever-present voice on the program.

Motson was born in Salford, Greater Manchester, in July 1945 and was the son of a Methodist minister. He retired in 2018 with Crystal Palace against West Brom being his last game.