Legendary football commentator John Motson has sadly died, BBC Sport has confirmed this morning.
The iconic BBC and TalkSPORT broadcaster was 77 and his family have released a brief statement.
The short announcement said: “It is with great sadness we announce that John Motson OBE died peacefully in his sleep today (Thursday).”
Watch John Motson’s infamous interview with Brian Clough
John Motson was the iconic voice of the BBC’s Premier League coverage for many years.
He began working on Match of the Day in 1971. He covered 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships and commentated on 29 FA Cup finals, retiring from the BBC in 2018.
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Motson described thousands of games to the nation over the years and interviewed heroes of the game including legendary Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough.
Motson said the best thing about Clough.
During an interview many years after his infamous chat with Clough, he made the brilliant quip about the iconic Forest man.
He told the Derby Telegraph: “With Cloughie, you never knew what he would say next. He could be quite controversial so it was very challenging to have to be on the other end of it.”
The pair famously came to blows in 1979 with Clough taking Motson to task over some comments the BBC had made.
He said: “There’s a lot of questions there John and with the sound of your voice, you’re just about getting them out as well.
“I think we have far too much football on television. You and your colleagues, John, are turning us off from family entertainment on a Saturday night by lecturing us at the moment.
“You lot are becoming too deep. You’re becoming dogmatic, overbearing and boring. There’s a difference between talking about it and discussing it with your mates to being lectured and I think what you do to referees is criminal.”