The traditional reading out of the football results at 5pm on a Saturday is axed by BBC Radio.
Image source, Getty ImagesA sporting tradition going back decades is no more – BBC Radio 5 Live will stop broadcasting the classified football results at 5pm on Saturdays.
“With the addition of the 5.30pm live Premier League match to our coverage, Sports Report has been condensed into a shorter programme,” the BBC said.
The BBC said it would still offer goal updates throughout the day on air.
The results have been read out by Charlotte Green since she took over from James Alexander Gordon in 2013.
“We would like to thank everyone who has read the classified football results on 5 Live over the years,” the BBC’s statement continued.
The corporation added that fans could also keep across the results on the BBC Sport website and Final Score on BBC One.
The classified football results listed all football results across the English and Scottish leagues.
Alexander Gordon, who died at the age of 78 in 2014, read the results for more than 40 years.
Green was a BBC Radio 4 news announcer before taking up the baton from Alexander Gordon in 2013.
The results were preceded by its now famous theme tune.
Not all fans and commentators were happy with the news.
Chief football writer at The Times, Henry Winter, tweeted that “the decision to scrap the service shows a lack of understanding of the fans”.
The reading of the classified football results on Sports Report has always been part of the Saturday match-day fabric for many fans. @5liveSport @bbc5live decision to scrap the service shows a lack of understanding of fans. It’s about continuity, the pyramid, information…
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter)
He also suggested that instead of dropping the classified results due to time constraints, 5 Live could drop one of their post-match manager interviews instead.
Up the Clarets, a Burnley fan group, posted that it was “tradition” to tune into the results at 5pm on a Saturday.
Others, including sports reporter Charles Dagnall, pointed out that they listened in the car on the way back from the match, where you couldn’t check your mobile phone.
The classified football results are gone?
What??
First thing you do when getting in the car after a match! 🤷🏻♂️
— Charles Dagnall (@CharlesDagnall)
But others felt it was time to modernise.
The Athletic’s Adam Crafton asked how many actually tuned in.
At the risk of upsetting, er, everyone: Wonder how many of the people devastated about the classified football results actually intentionally tuned in/relied on it last season, or is it just something being mourned because we liked it in the past?
— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_)