Mark Pougatch believes the word ‘disaster’ should never be uttered by football broadcasters live on air, with the ITV star imploring colleagues to ‘do much better’.
Pougatch, 58, took to X on Saturday evening to argue that the word’s usage should be curtailed when used to describe actions in a sporting context, given the tragedies that have shaken the game over the years.
‘Football reporters should never ever, ever, ever use the word ‘disaster’ in relation to giving a goal away,’ he posted.
‘We’ve just marked the Hillsborough tragedy. Check your language. Do much better.’
This week marked the 37th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 97 Liverpool supporters lost their lives during the team’s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on Saturday 15 April 1989.
‘Ninety-seven children, women and men lost their lives as a result of the events that occurred at the Reds’ FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on April 15, 1989,’ Liverpool FC said in a statement on Wednesday.
‘Ever since, the bereaved families and survivors of the tragedy have demonstrated remarkable courage, dignity and resilience in search of truth and justice.
‘In April 2016, an inquest jury concluded that each of the Hillsborough victims had been unlawfully killed and that no role was played by fans in causing the disaster.
‘Our thoughts on this significant and poignant day, as always, are with all those affected by the tragedy at Hillsborough and we pause in memory of the 97 fans who will never be forgotten.’
Pougatch was inundated with responses to his X post, with football fans disagreeing as to whether the word ‘disaster’ should be curtailed live on air.
‘That’s a bit much, Mark’ one fan replied. ‘In the context of the game they’re reporting on it is/could be a disaster, we can’t ban the use of a word because the situation at hand isn’t as bad as a completely unrelated event.’
Pougatch responded: ‘Sorry – it’s the first rule of broadcast journalism.’
‘Where does it end though Mark?’ another user asked. ‘If it’s words you don’t want to associate with tragic events then do you not use words like “Attack”, “battle” or “dominate”.’
