Tyldesley at a loss to explain axing by ITV
Clive Tyldesley says he cannot explain ITV’S decision to end abruptly his 28-year association with the broadcaster with one last Euro 2024 fixture tomorrow.
The popular commentator has been told he will not be offered another contract after he voices tomorrow’s last-16 match between Germany and Denmark.
ITV has moved to phase out Tyldesley from its biggest games over four years, having controversially axed him as lead commentator in 2020. Since then, he has also walked out on a job at Talksport, subsequently telling Telegraph Sport he was unhappy promoting gambling on the station.
Viewers expressed dismay at Tyldesley not being picked for ITV’S coverage of the later stages of the tournament in Germany. The 69-year-old told the Daily Mail he “does not know why” ITV has decided to show him the door this weekend, but said he has known for “five to six weeks” that he would not be offered another contract.
“ITV has been very good for me and my career and I’d like to think I have been good for them,” he said. “It’s a shame it’s coming to an end but it’s their opinion that this is the right call. I don’t know why they think that. I’ve never fully understood but I have to accept it. I still think my work is strong enough to resonate with old and young.”
ITV is thought to be planning a tribute to Tyldesley, who joined from the BBC in 1996, during the broadcast of the match. “It’s a strange situation because I am not retiring,” he added. “This is not my decision, it’s theirs. If they want to highlight the fact that I have been with them a long time, that’s also their decision.”