Pat Nevin’s comments during a pitch invasion in Celtic’s 3-1 victory against Hearts on the final day of the William Hill Scottish Premiership season “fell below editorial standards of accuracy”, the BBC has concluded.
Nevin had already apologised after claiming “two or three” Celtic supporters had punched Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland during live co-commentary for BBC Radio 5 Live.
The former Scotland winger was detailing chaotic scenes at Celtic Park as home fans flooded the pitch to celebrate Callum Osmand’s decisive goal, which helped the Hoops secure the title.
His remarks prompted complaints from listeners and, following a BBC inquiry, were determined to be incorrect. He apologised for his mistake last month in his BBC newsletter.
The broadcaster stated two listeners complained, leading the Executive Complaints Unit to have “considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy”.
“The scenes at the end of the match were chaotic, and Mr Nevin and his co-commentators were trying to give listeners an impression of events as they unfolded, with no opportunity for verification before speaking,” the BBC added.
“Mr Nevin subsequently acknowledged that he should not have stated definitively that the Hearts captain had been punched by Celtic fans. The ECU accepted that this was an honest error made in the heat of the moment, but concluded that it fell below the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy.
“The finding was reported to the management of BBC Sport. On his own initiative, Mr Nevin apologised for the error on air on two occasions, and again in his BBC Sport newsletter.”
Writing in his newsletter, Nevin stated: “I made a mistake in a commentary at the end of the last game of the Scottish season. I want to and will apologise for my error as soon as I have a big enough platform in front of those specific supporters over the next few weeks.
“From my angle in the gantry I thought I saw a punch thrown, but it appears it was a confrontation or maybe just goading from one of the hundreds of Celtic fans who invaded the pitch just before the end of the game.
“Goading is not physical violence and I will take it on the chin, the way the Hearts player probably didn’t. My apologies too those offended.”
