Tyson Fury: Greg Rutherford decides not pull out of SPOTY after consulting BBC over Fury's inclusion

Olympic gold medalist Greg Rutherford informed the BBC of his alarm at sharing the Sport Personality of the Year stage with Fury

Greg Rutherford will retire after the summer (Getty Images)

The BBC avoided a potential crisis over this year’s Sport Personality of the Year award after a leading contender informed officials of his alarm at sharing a stage with Tyson Fury after the heavyweight champion was named on the shortlist.

Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford is told the BBC that he is considering his place on the shortlist due to the inclusion of Fury after the 27-year-old was reported to have made sexist and homophobic comments in the build-up to his victory over Wladimir Klitschko two weeks’ ago.

The Belfast Telegraph claims that senior BBC executives held crisis talks on Tuesday night regarding the award ceremony, which will take place in Northern Ireland’s capital city, and there was a fear that if Rutherford pulled out of the running then others could follow suit.

However, issuing a statement on Wednesday afternoon, Rutherford said: "In light of seeing reports circulating regarding my involvement with BBC Sports Personality Of The Year, I feel I should clarify the current situation.

I have been in discussions with the BBC regarding my involvement with SPOTY after hearing what I believe to be very out-dated and derogatory comments from a fellow SPOTY nominee. Everybody has the right to freedom of speech, which is something that we as a society have struggled with and fought for generations to get to where we are now but by the nature of these comments, undermine the struggles that we have been through.

"As such, I wanted to speak with the BBC about sharing a stage with somebody that had views that are so strongly against my own. After doing so, I can confirm that reports that I am withdrawing from the ceremony are not true. The BBC have been hugely supportive in hearing my own views and I am hugely honoured and privileged to be included on the shortlist for such a prestigious event alongside so many remarkable sporting personalities, majority of whom I will proudly say to my son I had the chance to meet."

Long-jumper Rutherford enjoyed a successful year in which he won gold at the Atheltics World Championships in Beijing, becoming one of just five British athletes to hold Olympic, European, Commonwealth and World titles at the same time.

Asked about the possibility of Rutherford pulling out, a BBC spokesman said: “We won’t be commenting.”

When previously asked whether Fury would be removed from the shortlist, the BBC said: "Tyson Fury's victory and subsequent crowning as world heavyweight champion was widely covered by media outlets and his inclusion on the shortlist is similarly recognition of his sporting achievement - it is not about endorsing his personal views.

"It will be for the public to decide who will be crowned the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015."

A petition to have Fury removed from the shortlist has already seen over 122,380 signatures, with thousands unhappy with Fury’s comments regarding homosexuality and gender equality.

Fury claimed that a women’s “best place is on her back” while he also made comments regarding another shortlist nominee in Jessica Ennis-Hill, claiming she “looks good in a dress”. The 27-year-old heavyweight boxer was also heavily criticised after he compared homosexuality and abortion to paedophilia in an interview with the Mail on Sunday last month.

Greater Manchester Police are investigating an allegation of hate crime against Fury after he spoke on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, while the International Boxing Federation last night stripped Fury of his world title with them in a separate incident after he agreed to a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko instead of fighting their mandatory challenge in Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazko.

On Monday night, BBC presenter Clive Myrie branded Fury a d***head and claimed that his potential to win the award should not be allowed if he made such controversial comments.

During a live TV newspaper review, Myrie said: "You cannot be a d***head and win Sports Personality of The Year Award."

The BBC later issued an apology for Myrie’s remark.