Axed: Former footballer and pundit Robbie Earle has been fired by ITV after he abused his allocation of tickets to World Cup matchesITV fired World Cup pundit Robbie Earle yesterday after match tickets allocated to him were passed on to an 'unauthorised' third party.
Stubs of tickets given to the former footballer, who is also an ambassador for England's bid to host the 2018 tournament, were found on a group of Dutch female fans who were ejected during a game.
Fifa, football's governing body, said a 'substantial' number of tickets were apparently used to promote a Dutch alcohol company during Holland's game against Denmark on Monday.
It took action after 36 women wore orange mini-dresses in an apparent bid to promote Bavaria beer, which is not an official sponsor of the World Cup in South Africa.
The group had prime seats and drew attention to themselves by cheering and shouting at the match in Johannesburg.
The practice of hijacking an event to get publicity without paying is known as 'ambush marketing'.
The women - thought to be models - were ejected from the match at half time and interviewed by Fifa for several hours.
They claimed they were manhandled by match stewards and held for hours, with some in tears. They argued that the dresses distributed by the brewer did not carry any branding.
Controversial: Earle (left) on ITV with footballer Edgar Davids and presenter Matt Smith (far right)Some of the tickets in their possession were apparently part of ITV's corporate hospitality package - given to pundits and guests on the condition that they are distributed only among family and friends.
All recipients have to sign a form saying they understand the tickets are not to be passed on.
Last night ITV said it had terminated Earle's contract with 'immediate effect' after discovering the tickets had been allocated to him.
Ambush marketing: The group of women was ejected from the Holland v Denmark match after they were accused of promoting a brand that was not one of the official sponsors.A senior source at the broadcaster said: 'We know that there were also other matches where tickets allocated to Earle ended up in the hands of a third party.'
Senior figures say it is unlikely the presenter, who has been an ITV pundit since 2002, will work for them again.
Sources close to Earle insist he had simply been let down by a friend and had no idea that his ticket allocation was being used in an improper way by a third party.
The former Wimbledon and Port Vale midfielder, who played for Jamaica at the 1998 World Cup, said last night: 'Call me naive but I didn't think I was doing anything wrong.
'I hope when people hear the full story they will see me in a different light.'
The controversy comes only days after the World Cup bungle which saw 1.5million viewers of ITV's high-definition broadcast miss England's first goal on Saturday when an advert cut into the coverage.
source: dailymail
