After their infamous departure from Sky Sports 15 years ago, Richard Keys and Andy Gray moved to Qatar and have been covering football for BeIN Sports since 2013.
Richard Keyes and Andy Gray are reportedly leaving beIN Sports (Image: Instagram/nickycrosbytv)
Both Richard Keyes and Andy Gray will be leaving beIN Sports at the end of this season after 13 years. The long-serving pair left in May and the Qatar-based network’s World Cup coverage will not be broadcast this summer.
Keys, 68, and Gray, 70, were the faces of Sky Sports’ football coverage for almost 20 years, until they stepped down following Gray’s sacking in 2011 for making sexist comments about assistant referee Sian Massey. Keyes later resigned after a clip of his comments was released.
Veteran broadcaster Keys and former Scotland international Gray have found a new home in the Middle East and have been in charge of beIN’s Premier League broadcasts since 2013. However, The Athletic insists it will part ways with the broadcaster in the coming months.
Keys and Gray’s respective contracts are set to expire at the end of the 2025-26 season, and it has been explained that neither have any plans to sign new contracts. According to the report, there was no falling out and they plan to leave BeIN on amicable terms.
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Given Keys and Gray’s ages and changes in sports punditry, their motivations for leaving are said to be multifaceted. As broadcasters strive to keep up with the latest trends driven by social media influencers, YouTubers and fan channels, traditional pre- and post-game programming has become less important.
beIN Sports did not respond to a request for comment. During their time in Qatar, Keys and Gray were joined by guests such as Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger, and regularly worked with Nigel de Jong and Jason McAteer.
However, their careers will always be marred by the events of January 2011. Keyes is recorded as saying, “Somebody better go over there and explain to her (Massey) about offside.”
Andy Gray and Richard Keyes join BeIN Sports in 2013 (Image: UGC)
Gray replied, “Yeah, I know. Can you believe it? Female linesman. Forget what I said. They don’t know the offside rule.” Keyes said, “Of course not,” to which Gray replied, “Why do you have a female linesman? Someone’s making a fuss about it.”
Several years have passed since the incident, and Gray has revealed that she considered suicide after receiving backlash. Meanwhile, Keyes believes “dark forces” are working against them and claims they were “set up.”
“This is something we should have seen coming,” Keys told The Athletic. “Of course it was a set up, but they made capital out of it.”
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