Piers Morgan’s rant about Team GB’s £5.5m per medal funding for the Winter Olympics has won support from Twitter users – while he even found an unlikely ally in Eddie ‘The Eagle’.
The Good Morning Britain presenter argued this morning that too much money was being directed at winter sports rather than more popular alternatives like grassroots football.
It comes several days after the legendary plasterer turned Olympic ski jumper made a similar claim in a radio interview in which he said, ‘Britain aren’t a Winters nation’.
Piers Morgan argued on today’s GMB that too much money was being directed at winter sports in comments that annoyed co-host Susanna Reid
On Morgan’s return to the ITV show he slammed Team GB’s performance in the Olympics, comparing it to his co-star Alex Beresford’s Sunday night eviction from Dancing on Ice.
He said: ‘Five medals for all that we’ve invested in this and you’ve got kids who want to play basketball in this country and there’s no money.
‘It’s like Alex [Beresford] saying ”I’ve completed my journey I ended on a thrilling high,” and he came fifth.’
Co-host Susanna Reid rolled her eyes at the rant and urged Morgan to be ‘more positive’.
But many Twitter users agreed that winter sports were over-funded in comparison to their more popular alternatives.
Stuart Bishop tweeted: ‘Bang on mate .. stuff the Winter Olympics and put that money into grass roots football.’
Many Twitter users agreed that winter sports were over-funded in comparison to their more popular alternatives – although some disagreed
Ian Finan wrote: ‘Could not agree with @piersmorgan on this Winter Olympics and funding.. grassroots football is crying out for more money for kids football it’s a joke.’
Anthony Barnett said: ‘Good to hear @piersmorgan talking about the underfunding of popular sports in the UK, hopefully will get a few ears burning.’
But others defended the current system, with one viewer even calling on Morgan to ‘apologise’.
Lynsey Riley said: ‘Piers Morgan should apologise for his comment over team GB these are very talented people who work extremely hard to get the Olympics!!’
And another Twitter user, Britanny, added: ‘Rant on the Winter Olympics was uncalled for. #gmb.’
Eddie the Eagle (pictured at the Winter Olympics in Calgary in 1988) told BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show that he thought winter sports received too much money
Eddie the Eagle made his comments on funding last week in an interview on BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show.
‘I can agree with people who think: should we be spending this kind of money, especially on winter sports,’ he said.
‘While we should be supporting our athletes we shouldn’t be spending tens of millions of pounds on trying to keep up with the Austrians, with the Swiss, with the Germans, who have got the snow and the facilities.
‘It shouldn’t be an open wallet and spending tens of millions of pounds just to try and compete with them when it’s going to be very difficult.
‘I think we’re spending too much in our sporting arena, but good luck to our athletes anyway.’
Edwards (pictured at home in August, 2017) said: ‘It shouldn’t be an open wallet and spending tens of millions of pounds just to try and compete with them when it’s going to be very difficult’