Mark Lawrenson FINALLY Reveals Why He Was SACKED by The BBC

You were fired from the BBC. I think it's fair to say no. You weren't happy about that. What happened there? I was not happy with the way I was treated. Basically, I've been there almost. 25 years great but I was signing a contract season after season and I got a phone call probably at the end of March so my contracts would have ended at the end of June and the guy approached me and I was just doing Football Focus and then just all the other stuff like that, but um, he said, oh, he said, um, he said we're taking Football Focus on tour next year and I said, "You don't want to go, do you?", and I did whatever I wanted. .

It was nice that they asked me, and he said well, no, and I went, so I basically left. He said no, no, no, don't put it like that, don't put it like that, and I went, yes, yes. I left, I left, but I knew it was coming and what really made me angry was instead of him calling me and saying, look, you've had a great career, thank you very much and you know we're going in a different direction. It was and I thought typical typical BBC basically I'm 65 and I'm white and good night Lucy, but you know, there's a few of us, is there?

Steve Wright, who just passed away, obviously, which, God love him, I think they pushed him. Ken Bruce was another one who saw that he came out early and Sue Barka and I know that they asked Suka to say you know he had a great time and everything and it was his decision and about 3 weeks later he wrote this article and he said no , it wasn't just that they asked me to say that, but it is what it is. Do you think the BBC has woken up? I mean, you mentioned it. woke, it's the top of the woke league, they're scared to death, absolutely, totally, scared to death and, um, well, you've seen the stuff with Gary, haven't you with Gary liner and obviously people at the head of the BBC? and it's just that I don't know, it's um, I think day by day, I think the integrity of the corporation is actually destroyed, okay every day, because it used to be absolutely fantastic, but um, oh, they're awake plus 100. % When you say they are scared to death, what do you think they are really afraid of?

I think they're just scared and that's because they tell everyone you can't say this you can't do that and it's just, look, it's someone's opinion and, I mean, the thing about Gary with Gary liner is that he works for himself, so he's entitled to his own opinion, which you know, and obviously, rightly or wrongly, he has an opinion about everything, even inside a pingpong table. ball, but it's just that you used to go on the show and you know you obviously had your headphones in your ears and everything and uh, they're obviously talking to you from the gallery and someone asks a question and like you, you want to jump in and they're like, no, don't say anything, don't say anything and you say what you really mean and that affected me a little bit in the end, so Hansen Hansen was the best finisher after the World Cup.

Cup in Brazil and I'm done and he hasn't done anything as no one apart from Kenny got a BBC lifetime achievement award and um and Al went and gave him his trophy on the show and stuff but Maybe I should have. I just did that, but it was, you know, I had a huge burnout, but it just changed, but the world has changed, yeah, completely and I don't mean some of the things that you wouldn't say you get away with, but you know. I could say now just absolutely impossible, it's interesting to think about if it's a BBC, are they reacting to what you say that the world has changed or are they one of the organizations that has pushed it in that direction?

No, I think, no, I think, I think. You were surprised, weren't you? In many ways, and that's why I mean there's been so many changes there, certainly, certainly, in the sport, and obviously they've lost quite a few rights. They still have matches to this day, which is huge. I think they'll have it for another four years too, which is good. I read this morning that they could lose the FA Cup, okay? Is it TNT, yes, yes, I think TNT had the Champions League? Yes, yes, I think they are apparently going to make an offer, which is difficult for the BBC, but they were.

I mean, a lot of the shows have a brilliant match of the day, it's just great. It's fabulous and it does what it says on the tin and they have to if they haven't kept it I mean it would be good night VI basically from a football point of view yeah but yeah they just have it. It took me a long time to react, but I think the problem is that there is a huge chain and everyone seems to have this photo of about 20 blo sitting around the table trying to make a decision, okay? I might be wrong because I might only be 19, but it's like wow, yeah, yeah, I mean when I finished, it's Tim Davey, I think he's a big man, I think that's his name and he sent me a It's a really very nice letter and I and I just looked at it and thought, Oh, that's quite nice.

I've never spoken to him in my life and I'm not even sure he spelled it right, anyway, secretary or something, yeah, or the cleaner. one of the well, I mean, do you think the BBC is going to have longevity? I find it strange that the funding for the BBC comes from the fact that if you have a television, I have explained it to people like the Americans for example, and they think it is absolutely crazy, well just because you have a television, you have to buying a service from this company, whether you use it or not, that seems very strange, well, it is strange, isn't it?

And I think he looks, we're sitting here. what February and there will be a general election in the next two or three months so I wouldn't mind betting that the unions have something to say about it and basically that they will be scrapped and I also mean how many people watch. Terrestrial TV, yes, in general now, and I mean I have everything in the house and I almost forget to turn on terrestrial TV, yes, unless it's one of those quizzes at 4:00 in the afternoon where I already you know, you know? What I mean on ITV I don't think it's right, it's like honestly you start watching it and you just think what am I doing and actually and the thing is over, yes there is and the next thing you know it's over and it's and it is.

It hooks you, it's like and it's the simplest of things, but I mean, yeah, everything changed, didn't it? This is just a small clip of my 1+ hour conversation with Mark Lawrenson if you want to see it in full. video you can do it right here