Martin Tyler has finally explained the differences in his commentary for Anthony Martial and Christian Benteke’s goals in Liverpool’s 3-1 loss at Man United in 2015.
Tyler has long been accused of bias towards a number of clubs by rival supporters, having held the position of Sky Sports’ lead commentator for almost two decades.
One such incident came in 2015, when Man United were still considered equals to Liverpool and came away with a win over Brendan Rodgers’ side at Old Trafford.
Martial came off the bench to score on his debut, with Tyler screaming “YES” in reaction to his well-taken finish for 3-1.
But two minutes earlier, Benteke pulled off a stunning bicycle kick which, though the commentator labelled it “extraordinary,” barely saw him raise his tone at all.
That has been held up by Liverpool fans over the years as an example of Tyler’s ‘bored’ commentary, but speaking on an episode of ‘Shirt Shopping’ for YouTube channel AwayDays, he insisted there was no bias.
“I have to say in defence of that, when the away score it’s always harder to generate passion, because you’re not fighting against the crowd noise,” he explained.
“I think that’s a fair point, to be honest. But there’s no conscious bias, should we say.”
On Martial’s goal, Tyler added: “It was a story for me, because I’d commentated on him before he moved to Man United, playing for Monaco in a Champions League playoff round.
“I had a bit of insight into what he was like. I can understand why people would think that [I was biased there], but did they think I support Manchester City when Aguero scored?”
Tyler went on to insist he had no affinity for a particular Premier League club, with the 79-year-old instead known to be a lifelong supporter of non-league Woking.
But he did admit that a personal connection to particular players could impact his commentary.
“The hardest part is if you get to know the players,” he said.
“I always tell the story about Rickie Lambert, who I’d seen come through the lower divisions and suddenly he found himself at Southampton and he’s a Premier League player.
“Tthe first game was the post-Aguero game, the next game for Man City I think was at home to Southampton.
“I went to see Southampton train and I saw Rickie and I said ‘I’m really looking forward to seeing you’, and he said ‘oh, I’m only on the bench’.
“He came on and four minutes later he scored, so if there’s a personal reaction to a goal that I’ve commentated on, you might notice that I was very pleased for Rickie.
“So is that bias? Maybe it is, [but] they lost the game so I didn’t upset anybody!”
