Match Of The Day is at the centre of a sexism storm after asking a former Love Island star and life-long Arsenal fan which player she would ‘most like to have babies with’.
Reality star Shaughna Phillips, 26, found fame on Love Island last summer, and appeared on the BBC show to talk about her love of Arsenal in a video first shared by the Match of The Day Twitter page today.
The clip has since been deleted and the corporation offered a grovelling apology after Ms Phillips was asked to rate football players on their looks.
She also had to get into an ice bucket while wearing a replica shirt of her club’s London rival Tottenham Hotspur after losing a quiz against Reece Parkinson, the host of the online spin off show Match Of The Day X.
Reality star Shaughna Phillips, 26, found fame on Love Island last summer, and appeared on the BBC show to talk about her love of Arsenal in a video first shared by the Match of The Day Twitter page today
It is believed the programme was removed after female broadcasters complained.
At the beginning of the clip Ms Phillips tried to tell the host her all-time favourite Arsenal player, only to be interrupted by suggestions of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
She replied: ‘No, Tomas Rosicky.’ Mr Parkinson then turned to the camera to say: ‘That proves Shaughna is a real Arsenal OG.’
Tomáš Rosický spent a decade at Arsenal between 2006 and 2016, where he earned the nickname ‘the little Mozart’ for his ability to ‘orchestrate’ the midfield.
Outraged viewers complained female football supporters should not have to ‘prove’ they are real fans.
Later Ms Phillips was asked to pick which squad member she would ‘couple up’ with, a reference to her time on Love Island, where singletons have to choose which fellow islander to be in a ‘couple’ with.
Ms Phillips (pictured) was asked to pick which squad member she would ‘couple up’ with, referring to her time on Love Island, where singletons have to choose which fellow islander to be in a ‘couple’ with
Forced to choose between strikers Pierre Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette Mr Parkinson asked her which ‘she would have babies with’.
A visibly shocked Ms Phillips replied: ‘Wow, bit deep.’
Mr Parkinson, a presenter for BBC Radio 1Xtra, said: ‘That’s a good question.’
The five-minute clip, filmed at a fake Hawaiian bar, was tweeted to the official Match Of The Day Twitter page, which boasts 2.9million followers.
The post has since been deleted and the episode is no longer online.
Beth Fisher, a sports reporter for ITV Wales, said: ‘I want to say that Match Of The Day X, a new format to help improve diversity and reach a new audience, put someone from Love Island who is a huge Arsenal fan, but in my view they objected her to the stereotypical banter that us women in football are kind of sick of.
Ms Phillips appeared on Love Island during the summer of 2019 and boasts a 1.5million Instagram following
At the beginning of the clip Ms Phillips tried to tell the host her all-time favourite Arsenal player, only to be interrupted by suggestions of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. She replied: ‘No, Tomas Rosicky.’ (pictured)
Forced to choose between strikers Pierre Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette Mr Parkinson asked which ‘she would have babies with’. A visibly shocked Ms Phillips replied: ‘Wow, bit deep’
‘Instead of asking proper fan questions like they would ask anyone else she was asked who she would like to marry. I am a bit sick of this.
‘We have to stop with this unconscious, or conscious stereotyping within sport because it does no good.’
Others took to social media to share their disbelief at the presenter’s comments.
One said: ‘Genuinely thought this was from 10 yrs ago (wasnt acceptable then either) until the who would u rather shag section! Utterly shocking. And who is the absolute b**lend asking the “really good questions…”‘
Social media users took to Twitter to share their disbelief at the presenter’s comments. One questioned why female football fans were still being asked to ‘prove’ they were supporters
The five-minute clip, filmed at a fake Hawaiian bar, was tweeted to the official Match Of The Day Twitter page, which boasts 2.9million followers. Pictured, Mr Parkinson thought asking who his guest would have babies with was ‘a good question’
Another added: ‘Get a woman on who’s a massive Arsenal fan. When she starts talking about her favourite player, interrupt her to guess it’s C Ronaldo (it was Rosicky, fwiw).
‘Then ask her to go through the squad deciding who she’d rather shag. What were @BBCMOTD thinking about with this one?’
Another said: ‘Shouting Ronaldo and Messi at her like they would be the only footballers she knows.’
Outraged viewers complained female football supporters should not have to ‘prove’ they are real fans. Pictured, Ms Phillips during her time on Love Island
One wrote: ‘Basically Shaughna from Love Island was patronised by a male host about her football knowledge, had to choose which players she fancies most and then had to take an ice bath in a rival shirt. Unbelievably, it’s actually worse than it sounds.’
A spokesman for the BBC said: ‘BBC Sport has been at the forefront of championing women’s sport, and female fans, for many years.
‘This film is out of step with the wider, positive work we have done and has been removed from our platforms. We apologise for any offence it has caused.’
The BBC’s director of Sport Barbara Slater joined in 2009 and immediately expanded coverage of women’s sport. Last year it made up 30 per cent of the corporation’s total sports coverage.
MailOnline has approached Ms Phillips’ representative for comment.