Match of the Day commentator fires back at Keys in row over BBC programme

Richard Keys has been branded an "unemployable dinosaur" by a Match of the Day commentator after he slammed the BBC highlights programme.

Keys and sidekick Andy Gray are embarking upon a new stage in their careers after leaving Qatar and their jobs with beIN SPORTS. The duo moved to the Middle East following their sacking by Sky Sports for making sexist comments in 2011, but are now back in England.

After 13 years in Doha with beIN SPORTS, Keys and Gray have now entered the world of podcasting with a show called 'Keys & Gray Unleashed'. In the latest episode, Keys has voiced his opinion that the BBC's Premier League highlights show, Match of the Day, is unfit for purpose in the age of social media.

He said: "When [Gary] Lineker left Match of the Day, there was a big fuss about who was going to present the programme going forward and my attitude then and remains 'who cares'? It doesn't matter. Match of the Day is a programme well past its sell by date. It was when Gary was presenting it. Who watches it?

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"By the time it goes to air everybody knows what's happened in the day. Highlights are available from 5.15 on most social media outlets. They even let commentators, in an eight-minute edit, do team news at the top. Why? What's the point of that?"

He went on to lament the £390,000 to £394,999-a-year that Alan Shearer earned for his punditry role last year. "The BBC still think they cover football better than anyone else," he concluded before looking directly down the camera. "Not since 1992 guys."

Keys' not-so hot take has wound up commentator Dan O'Hagan, who has worked on Match of the Day, as well as other BBC sports highlights shows.

"So, this is to be their format then," O'Hagan wrote on X. "A pair of old, unemployable dinosaurs saying mildly controversial things for clicks. No better than the YouTubers or the s***-takes-for-likes influencers. Quite sad really, especially as Gray was genuinely the best co-commentator around."

Lineker presented Match of the Day from 1999 to 2025 before stepping down last summer. Last season saw Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan come in to share presenting duties.

There have been reports of tensions behind the scenes recently due to BBC director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski's plans to take the iconic programme in a different direction. Reports that Shearer had decided to reduce his appearances on the show to once-a-month have been rejected by the corporation.

"The suggestion that Alan is reducing his Match of the Day appearances because of the director of sport is untrue," a spokesperson said.

A statement from Shearer read: “Cutting back my MOTD appearances is something we’ve been discussing for some time and purely so I can have some weekends back. I've always had a positive relationship with everyone at the BBC and that continues to be the case.”