BBC Scotland presenter committed breach of standards with unacceptable claim about Rangers hero
And his co-host has attended equality and diversity training
David Oliver, Online Sports Reporter
Updated: 19:03, 28 Mar 2024
RADIO HOST Stuart Cosgrove broke broadcast guidelines with comments about Rangers legend Richard Gough, the BBC has found.
The Beeb has published the outcome of two resolved
complaints against its Off The Ball radio programme - which airs on Saturday lunchtime before the Scottish
footballcoverage kicks off.
Rangers hero Richard Gough was a legendary captain and also held ambassador roles at IbroxCredit: Keith Campbell - The Sun Glasgow
And Cosgrove, 71, had a discussion with bosses over his comments which were aired in January
Former
Rangers,
Everton and Dundee United defender Gough was not involved in the programme when Cosgrove said he was unsure if the
Scotland international - who was born in
Sweden but raised in South Africa - was "against apartheid".
A listener complaint was
upheld by the broadcasters' executive complaints unit and found BBC Scotland had "already acknowledged the breach of standards" and resolved the issue.
The outcome determined the comments "gave the impression of being a personal attack on someone who did not have the opportunity of responding, and went beyond what would be considered generally acceptable in a programme of this kind."
Gough played for
Dundee United and Spurs before two spells at Rangers either side of a move to Kansas City Wizards.
He also played for San Jose Earthquakes in the
MLS and finished his career at Everton.
The complaint made around Cosgrove's comments was one of two made against Off The Ball, which he and
Tam Cowan have hosted since 1995.
The irreverant show, jokingly self-branded as 'the most petty an ill-informed programme on radio' dub their hosts the 'odd couple' of Scottish football.
Cowan was also
found to have breached the BBC Editorial Guidelines for making comments with "elements of sexism and sexual innuendo" on air in February.
He was given equality, diversity and inclusion training to resolve the complaint after another listener complained about a story detailing a shopping trip with his wife.
The ECU found that those elements were "unsuitable for a programme broadcast at Saturday lunchtime".
But the presenter taking part in the additional training was found "sufficient to resolve the issue of the complaint," the ECU said.
Neither programme in focus is available to re-listen on BBC Sounds app or in the programme catalogue on
Apple podcasts.
Only recent programmes from the past month are available for download or to stream.