SPORTS AGENDA: The BBC won’t own up to getting rid of Mark Pougatch

Given their ludicrous obsession with attracting young audiences, perhaps it should come as no surprise that the BBC’s press office have apparently begun to act like Pinocchio.

On December 22, Sports Agenda asked the broadcaster if it was true that Mark Pougatch was to become the latest departure as part of their purge on superb journalists whose only crime appears to be being a male of a certain age.

In no uncertain terms, the BBC responded that Pougatch would not be following Cornelius Lysaght and Jonathan Overend out of the door. Imagine our surprise, then, when Pougatch announced last week that yes, he was off.

When asked to explain the previous duff information, the BBC said Pougatch himself had made the decision to leave and that the information they had provided about him remaining with Radio 5 Live was correct at the time.

Imagine our surprise (again), when we reached Pougatch for comment and he said he had been told at the beginning of December that there was no more work for him at 5 Live.

BBC policy states: ‘Trust is the foundation of the BBC; we are independent, impartial and honest.’ Perhaps someone should pin that on the wall of the press office.

Meanwhile, the nonsense continues as normal. BBC Sport director Barbara Slater has written to staff to again highlight the key objective of engaging with the under-35s. The cult-ish mantra from executives is ‘innovate or die’.

At the third time of asking, the BBC say Pougatch had not worked for them regularly for some time and they added they have ‘developed other presenters who can work for us more regularly’. A spokesperson said: ‘Our suggestion was we use him when his commitments allowed and we had the need.’

THE ‘LORD’ WHO TOOK BEEFY TO HOLLYWOOD DIES AGED 79

‘Lord’ Tim Hudson, Sir Ian Botham’s flamboyant ex-manager from the 1980s, has died at the age of 79. A huge cricket fan, DJ and voiceover artist, Hudson was close to the Beatles and in 2004 published his memoirs, From The Beatles to Botham. 

He and Botham eventually fell out over failed plans to turn the England cricketer into a Hollywood actor in the mid-80s. It is understood that Hudson’s US-based daughter, River, tried to contact Botham after her father’s passing but has so far been unable to do so. 

Hudson, who hosted celebrity matches at the cricket ground at his former Cheshire home, Birtles Old Hall, passed away last month.

‘Lord’ Tim Hudson (centre) poses with Sir Ian Botham and Sir Viv Richards in 1985

STILL NO OLYMPIC PLACE FOR COE

With the trial of former IAAF chief Lamine Diack due to start in Paris on Monday, some have wondered if a knock-on effect has been to delay Lord Coe’s membership of the International Olympic Committee.

Although there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of Coe, who replaced Diack as president in 2015, his initial comments that his predecessor was ‘the spiritual leader of our sport’ have already begun to be repeated in the media. Diack is alleged to have carried out a lucrative cover-up of positive Russian doping tests in athletics.

There is a school of thought that Coe’s IOC membership would have been ratified on Friday along with that of FIFA chief Gianni Infantino — given World Athletics (the IAAF’s renamed version) have been without a presence since Diack’s 2015 departure — had it not been for the proximity of the trial. 

However, sources close to Coe maintain that the reason for his, as yet, non-membership remains due to the IOC’s perception that there is a conflict of interest. Coe is group chairman of consultancy firm CSM which also works for the IOC and would need to become a non-executive director to end the conflict. Should he do so, it could see him take his place at the Tokyo Olympics.

Lord Coe has not yet been made a member of the International Olympic Committee

Jacqui Oatley will take over presenting Sky’s Sunday Supplement following Neil Ashton’s decision to leave the role. Ashton has also left his post as The Sun’s chief football writer after setting up a PR agency, Ashton Media Group.

His first client is Manchester United, which is some coup, with more expected to follow. Ashton’s brief is to provide advice to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and co-owner Joel Glazer on how to deal with the British media.

Dealing with their own fans may be another avenue they wish to explore after anti-Glazer and Woodward chants reverberated around Old Trafford during the 4-0 victory over Norwich on Saturday.

Oatley, who has already filled in while Ashton was away earlier this season, has been given the gig until the end of the season.

Jacqui Oatley will replace Neil Ashton as host of Sky’s Sunday Supplement programme

Allan Leighton is the frontrunner to succeed Colin Graves as ECB chairman. The board have a 12-person shortlist but Leighton, who has sat on the ECB’s nominations committee, is favoured. There is a start date of April, with Graves set to go in November following a lengthy handover.

Given the Yorkshirefication of English cricket, with men’s captain and coach along with Graves hailing from the county, Leighton would appear to fit the bill. Although the former Asda chief executive hails from Herefordshire, he is an ex-deputy chairman of Leeds United. However, he was given an honorary fellowship of the University of Central Lancashire for his contributions to the world of business. Leighton, a fan of military history, has also served as non-executive chairman of the Royal Mail and is a co-owner of Brackley Town.

It is to be hoped that, in an Olympic year, our competitors are not indulging in freebies from one of British Athletics’ sponsors. Muller have introduced gin and tonic and pink gin and elderflower versions of their product which they are advertising on television — along with the line that they are the official yogurt supplier to British Athletics.