John Motson ‘apologises’ for racist comment about Millwall striker Tom Elliott during Talksport FA Cup broadcast

The 73-year-old called Millwall striker Tom Ellliott ‘big, black and brave’ during a live Talksport broadcast of the 1-0 FA Cup victory over AFC Wimbledon on Saturday

John Motson has personally contacted Millwall’s Tom Elliott after the long-serving football commentator was warned by his employer Talksport for describing the striker as “big, black and brave” during a live radio broadcast.

Motson, who last year retired from commentary for the BBC only to return with Talksport after a big-money offer, was involved in the racist controversy on Saturday during Millwall’s 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup fifth round.

During the match, Motson was heard describing 28-year-old English striker as “big, black and brave”, which remained on the Talksport website after the original live broadcast had finished.

The Daily Mail reports that Motson has now personally contacted Elliott to apologise for his racist slur and apologised for his remark that falls into a racial stereotype that has been highlighted as unacceptable within football punditry.

The report adds that Talksport have reprimanded 73-year-old Motson over the incident but that no further action will be taken against the legendary broadcaster.

A Talksport spokeman said: “We reviewed a live commentary by John Motson and decided to remove it from replay.

“Talksport and all of its broadcasters take such matters very seriously and would never wish to offend.”

The recorded broadcast has since been removed from the website.

Millwall's Tom Elliott was subject of a racist comment by Talksport broadcaster John Motson (Getty)

Motson spent 50 years with the BBC after starting his career back in 1968, with his first live commentary coming three years later before he joined the Match of the Day team. During his commentary career, Motson has covered 10 World Cups, the same number of European Championships sand 29 FA Cup finals, before ‘retiring’ in March 2018 that preceded his surprise move to Talksport.