Gary Lineker said a phone “taped to the back of the set” was to blame after viewers heard porn noises.
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Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has laughed off the moment sex noises transmitted by a YouTube prankster disrupted the show’s live coverage.
Noises from a porn clip were heard as Lineker presented pre-match build-up before the Wolves v Liverpool fixture.
A frenzied studio hunt uncovered a planted mobile phone – and YouTube prankster Daniel Jarvis claimed he was behind the stunt on Tuesday’s show.
The BBC apologised to any viewers who were offended.
But Lineker, who later tweeted a picture of the mobile phone he said was “taped to the back of the set”, said he thought there was nothing to apologise for.
Calling it a “good prank”, he said: “As sabotage goes it was quite amusing.”
The prank played out as Lineker presented the programme in a studio at Wolverhampton’s Molineux Stadium alongside pundits Paul Ince and Danny Murphy.
Speaking on BBC Two’s Newsnight later on Tuesday, Lineker explained that he initially thought a video had been sent to one of the pundits’ phones that they had inadvertently left switched on.
But it was “too loud”, he said, and he noticed that every time the producers cut away from the studio to show a video clip, the noises immediately stopped.
So he reasoned that it must be someone watching on TV who was triggering them remotely.
Asked by Newsnight how loud the sound effect was in the studio, the broadcaster said he was unable to hear what any of the producers were telling him in his earphones, making it “quite difficult” to carry on with the pre-match build-up.
At one stage he had to explain what he thought was going on to viewers and said “Somebody’s sending something on someone’s phone, I think.
“I don’t know whether you heard it at home.”
When the coverage of the match itself started – and the studio knew they had a clear 45 minutes off air before Lineker and the pundits would be back to discuss the first half action, a detailed search began.
It was not long before Lineker was able to share the explanation on Twitter as he shared a picture of a mobile phone on Twitter and three laughing emojis alongside the words: “Well, we found this taped to the back of the set.”
Well, we found this taped to the back of the set. As sabotage goes it was quite amusing. 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/ikUhBJ38Je
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker)
The BBC issued an official statement which read: “We apologise to any viewers offended during the live coverage of the football this evening. A spokesperson also confirmed the BBC was investigating the incident.
Less than an hour after coming off air on BBC One, Lineker was back on BBC Two to discuss what had happened on Newsnight.
He said he could see the funny side and he questioned why the BBC had issued an apology.
“We’ve certainly got nothing to [be sorry] for,” he told the BBC’s Kirsty Wark, while travelling back from the FA Cup match.
“If you told me this morning that tonight I’d be on Newsnight talking about a porn scandal,” he added, laughing, “I would have been terrified.”
The incident did not go unnoticed by viewers, with clips of the moment widely shared on social media on Tuesday evening.
YouTube prankster Daniel Jarvis claimed he was behind the stunt, posting a video on Twitter that appeared to show him at Molineux.
Jarvis was handed a suspended sentence last October after being convicted of aggravated trespass over an incident in which he collided with England cricketer Jonny Bairstow while invading the Oval pitch in south London during Test Match.
He was given an eight-week prison sentence suspended for two years and was banned from attending any venue where a sporting fixture is being held in England and Wales for two years.
He was also banned from travelling abroad for 12 months and made subject to a rehabilitation activity requirement.