Laura Woods reacts in anger after being accused of bias for presenting TNT Sports during the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal
Laura Woods defended TNT Sports’ coverage of Arsenal’s defeat (Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Laura Woods made the lame suggestion that TNT Sports shouldn’t have let her host the Champions League final broadcast because she’s an Arsenal fan. Woods anchored the channel’s broadcast when Arsenal lost to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties after a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.
The 38-year-old presenter is a self-confessed Arsenal supporter and makes no attempt to hide that fact on social media. She worked with critics Martin Keown, Owen Hargreaves and Steven Gerrard in Budapest on Saturday.
The Gunners were playing in their first Champions League final since 2006, when they faced Barcelona, with Mikel Arteta’s side aiming for a double after winning the Premier League. TNT Sport’s coverage for UK viewers focused on Arsenal as an English team, but many fans were not happy with their form.
The Telegraph article said: “Saturday’s broadcast was all about Arsenal, thanks to fan presenter Laura Woods and a list of pundits who were biased in favor of the North Londoners at the expense of PSG’s balance.”
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This comment clearly angered Woods, who responded to X. “If my team makes it to the finals and I have a contract to work on the show, then I really can’t help it,” she wrote sarcastically.
Another fan lamented that broadcaster, journalist and PSG fan Julian Lawrence was not used after the match started. “We would never invite him to be a commentator. He is not a commentator or a football player who provides game commentary,” Woods replied.
“After the match I interviewed Luis Enrique, Nasser Al-Khelaifi and a lot of PSG players. Gerrard and Hargreaves were also part of the whole program. To be honest, this is disgusting.”
Laura Woods hosted TNT Sports’ Champions League final broadcast (Image: Chris Brunskill/Getty Images)
Woods, who will be working for ITV Sport during the upcoming World Cup, left his followers thinking otherwise: “Wait until you see how ‘biased’ the World Cup coverage on both ITV and the BBC is. Hint. It’s going to be mostly in English…”
Woods will be joined by pundits Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Gary Neville and Karen Carney, while Emma Hayes, Patrick Vieira and Ally McCoist will also provide analysis for ITV during the tournament, which begins on June 11.
TNT Sports’ broadcast of the Champions League final was watched by approximately 7 million viewers on Saturday night, representing approximately 26.6% of the viewing population. However, The Guardian reported that an estimated 16.2 million viewers in the UK watched the match through illegal means.
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