The BBC is to dedicate a night of TV to mark the career of John Motson as the football commentator retires after 50 years.
BBC Two will show a series of programmes on Saturday May 19th in tribute to the man who has presided over 10 World Cup finals, 10 European Championships, 29 FA Cup Finals, over 200 England internationals and over 2,000 football matches.
Motty: The Man Behind The Sheepskin will take Motson around the grounds that have provided the backdrop for his career, with additional contributions from the likes of Gary Lineker, Ian Wright, Sir Trevor Brooking, Mark Lawrenson, Sir Elton John, Noel Gallagher and Sir Rod Stewart.
Motty Mastermind will see the commentator take over from John Humphrys as the host of the famous quiz show. Among those he’ll be grilling are former world boxing champion Anthony Crolla and fellow commentator Jonathan Pearce.
Rounding off the night will be Countdown to the Full Motty, which sees Match of the Day’s Gary Lineker introduce a special countdown of some of Motty’s greatest football commentaries.
Motson’s final commentary can be heard on May 13 on Match of the Day as he reports on the action of Crystal Palace vs West Brom.
He said: “I’m truly humbled that the BBC is dedicating such a special evening to me. I’ve been very lucky to have witnessed some incredibly special moments in football and I look forward to sitting down with my family, and many football fans in the country, to look back on the past 50 years.”
