BBC and Mistiano Penaldo: ‘It was a pun, no offence intended’

The pun used by the BBC in the commentary accompanying Jan Oblak’s penalty save against Cristiano Ronaldo, in the round of 16 between Portugal and Slovenia in the Euro 2024 Championship, last Monday (1), led to a reaction from British television, after receiving some comments. Complaints.

In the match in question, which went into extra time, the BBC wrote “Mistiano Penaldo” in the graphics, when the match was being analysed in the studio, before the penalty shootout, which Portugal won 3-0.

“We have received some complaints about the commentary that accompanied Cristiano Ronaldo’s missed penalty kick during the match analysis,” the BBC began by noting, in a summary of its viewers’ complaints, that:

The BBC then justified, in its response, that “the caption was simply intended as a pun”, and that this had already been done “several times before, in the channel’s analytical graphics”. Today’s match“And that there was no intention to offend Cristiano Ronaldo.”

– Read more: John Terry rebels to defend Ronaldo: ‘Shame on you BBC’

In the same memo, the BBC lists three points to clarify that throughout the programme they spoke “positively about Ronaldo on several occasions”, in a panel discussion that included Portugal’s Jose Fonte, along with Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker.

“In fact, throughout the programme we spoke positively about Ronaldo on several occasions, including:

1. In the build-up to the match, when Jose Fonte highlighted Ronaldo’s dedication to training, saying that this is why he is “one of the best players ever”;

2. At the end of the first half, Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer provided a lengthy analysis of Ronaldo’s move, praising it as “absolutely brilliant”;

3. After the penalty shootout, Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer pointed to Ronaldo’s courage and confidence to step forward and score the penalty.

The channel also stresses that “at no point were the experts overly critical of Ronaldo and, in the general context of the programme, the tone was consistently respectful”. “However, we are aware that some viewers were unhappy with the sketch and the comments have been passed on to the production team to assist them in their future work”, the BBC concluded in its general response to the complaints received.