Alan Green (born 25 June 1952 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a BBC Radio sports broadcaster/commentator. He commentates mainly on football, but also covers golf, rowing and the Olympic Games.^[1] Alan Green may refer to: Alan Green (broadcaster) (born 1952), British sports commentator on BBC Radio Five Live Alan Green (soccer), a former NASLer Alan Green (UK politician) (1911–1991), British Conservative Party politician Category: ... is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the capital city of Northern Ireland. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. ... “Soccer” redirects here. ... This article is about the game. ... A coxless pair which is a sweep-oar boat. ... The five Olympic rings were designed in 1913, adopted in 1914 and debuted at the Games at Antwerp, 1920. ...

Background

Green attended Methodist College Belfast. He then joined Queen's University, Belfast and worked on local newspapers before joining the BBC as a news trainee in 1975. Methodist College Belfast, styled locally as Methody, is a voluntary grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... Queens University, Belfast - or officially The Queens University of Belfast (QUB; in Irish, Ollscoil na Banríona, Béal Feirste) - is a university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ...

His first match commentary on the radio was a 1982 World Cup qualifier between England and Northern Ireland, before he joined the BBC Radio football team in 1982. The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th staging of the World Cup, was held in Spain from June 13 to July 11. ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... For the Irish FAs all-Ireland international team, see Ireland national football team (IFA). ... BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. ...

Following the death of Peter Jones in 1990, Green joined Mike Ingham on the top BBC Radio commentary team in time for the World Cup. Green is noted for his opinions on many aspects of football - he is quoted to not remember the last thing he 'didn't have an opinion about' in his autobiography The Green Line. Peter Jones (1930-1990) was a Welsh-born broadcaster, best known as a sports commentator on BBC radio in the United Kingdom, although many of his commentaries were broadcast internationally on the BBC World Service. ... Mike Ingham is a British football commentator and broadcaster, born in 1950. ... The 1990 FIFA World Cup, the 14th staging of the World Cup, was held in Italy from June 8 to July 8. ...

Controversy

Green was censured by Ofcom in October 2004 after he made a comment deemed in breach of the regulator's Code on Standards live on-air about Manchester United's Cameroonian midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba, implying he (a black player) may be speaking pidgin English with the referee^[2][3]. He had previously described Manchester City's Chinese defender Sun Jihai as wearing shirt "Number 17 -- that'll be the Chicken Chow Mein, then" during a live radio broadcast.^[4][5] Ofcom is a regulator for communication industries in the United Kingdom. ... Eric Daniel Djemba-Djemba (born May 4, 1981 in Douala, Cameroon) is a football defensive midfielder who currently plays for Qatar SC and the Cameroon national football team. ... This article is about simplified languages. ... Manchester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Manchester. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Sun Sun Jihai (Simplified Chinese: 孙继海) (born September 30, 1977 in Dalian, China) is a Chinese football (soccer) player who currently plays for Manchester City as a defender and for the China national football team as a midfielder. ...

He is frequently accused by fans of various English Premier League clubs of having a vendetta against their club and/or supporting a rival team. In his autobiography, Green disingenuously claims that the only team he has a particular affinity for is Linfield, a club based in Belfast. Ian Herbert, however, writing in The Independent, implies Green's preference is for Liverpool FC^[6]. “Linfield” redirects here. ... For other uses, see The Independent (disambiguation). ... {{Football club infobox | clubname = Liverpool FC | image = fullname = Liverpool FC | nickname = The Reds | founded = 1892 | ground = Anfield | capacity = 45,000 | chairman = D.R.Moores | Chief Executive Officer = R.N.Parry | manager = Rafael Benitez | league = FA Premiership | season = 2005-06 | position = FA premiership, 5th | pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=| leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FF0000...

Famously, he has an ongoing "feud" with Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United, and the pair have not spoken for years. A number of Manchester United fans base their resentment of Green on Ferguson's feud with him. Green said in an interview^[7] that the feud dates back to an incident in which he said on air that he was "learning not to believe the propaganda that comes out of the Manchester United manager's office" after he had been given inaccurate team news by Ferguson before a game. In the same interview Green defends his professional impartiality: "I'm supposed to hate Man United, but listen to my commentary on the 1999 European Cup final in Barcelona and try telling me I hate Man United. It's garbage." Sir Alex Ferguson (born Alexander Chapman Ferguson, December 31, 1941 in Govan, Glasgow) is a Scottish football manager, currently managing Manchester United F.C.. He has won more trophies than any other manager in the history of English football and been in charge of Manchester United for over 1000 matches. ... MUFC redirects here. ...

In February 2006, Green was banned from the Reebok Stadium (home of Bolton Wanderers) after accusing the team and its manager Sam Allardyce of playing "ugly" football which he wouldn't pay to watch. Following Allardyce's departure to Newcastle United, the club and new manager Sammy Lee have invited Green back, but he remains an unpopular figure in Bolton.^[8] The Reebok Stadium is the home stadium of English Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook retail park in Horwich, near Bolton. ... Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional football club based in Lostock, in the Borough of Bolton, England. ... Samuel Allardyce (born October 19, 1954 in Dudley, West Midlands) is an English former professional football player and is the manager of Newcastle United. ... For the Australian club, see Newcastle United Jets. ... Sammy Lee is the name of: Sammy Lee (scientist) (born 1958), expert in vitro fertilisation Sammy Lee (diver) (born 1920), Korean-American diver Sammy Lee (footballer) (born 1959), former Liverpool footballer and current Bolton Wanderers manager Satoru Sayama (born 1957), Japanese wrestler with the stage name Sammy Lee Category: ...

In 2005, Green caused outrage with Everton fans, with an article he wrote for the Irish Examiner entitled Wake up and smell the coffee, David! ^[9] The article, suggesting the club manager David Moyes should suppress rather than encourage the club's ambitions after an 'overachieving' finish in 4th place in the previous season, was viewed by fans as a thinly veiled attack on the club after being picked up by the Liverpool Echo. Green even received death threats over the article^[10]. Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. ... The Irish Examiner (Formerly: Cork Examiner, The Examiner) is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ... David William Moyes (b. ... The Liverpool Echo and Liverpool Daily Post are two newspapers published by Trinity Mirror on Merseyside in the United Kingdom. ...

In January 2007, Green was again in hot water on Merseyside over comments made on Five Live during the Everton v Reading match at Goodison Park. Film star Sylvester Stallone was paraded on the pitch, and Green quipped as to whether Stallone's limousine would still have wheels when he returned to it. This prompted an official complaint to the BBC by Liverpool City Council, outraged at his stereotypical views about the city being a hotbed of car crime. The story was reported by the Liverpool Daily Post and radio news website RadioToday.^[11] Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. ... BBC Radio Five Live is the BBCs radio service providing live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries. ... Goodison Park is the home ground of Everton F.C. in Liverpool. ... Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone[1] (born July 6, 1946) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. ... See City of Liverpool for other meanings Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. ... The Liverpool Echo and Liverpool Daily Post are two newspapers published by Trinity Mirror on Merseyside in the United Kingdom. ...

Popularity

Despite his controversies, Green retains a reputation as an enthusiastic and generally popular broadcaster, well respected by his peers. The BBC's John Inverdale said

"Green is the man who has hindered the art of commentary development in tandem with the rest of the medium. A man who misunderstands his audience, and who panders to it, and enrages it at the same time. You listen to Alan Green because you know that even if the game is as dull as ditchwater, the commentary won't be. "

Appearances in other media

Green provided the commentary for the PlayStation football games Olympic Soccer, Soccer '97, and most recently, PlayStation 2's Let's Make a Soccer Team (2006) by SEGA. For other uses, see PlayStation (disambiguation). ... PS2 redirects here. ... This article is about the video game company. ...

References