Mark Pugatch and ITV panel as Spain beat France 2-0 (Image: ITV)
ITV presenter Mark Pugatch, who famously denied the England legend his knighthood, immediately apologized for accidentally calling Bobby Moore ‘Sir’. The World Cup-winning captain sadly would not be knighted until his tragic death from cancer at the age of 51 in 1993. Moore remains revered and remembered as one of England’s all-time greats, making 108 appearances between 1962 and 1973, captaining 90 of them, including the memorable 4-2 Wembley victory over West Germany in 1966.
No defender has won more caps since his first official appearance with the Three Lions. However, during the post-match coverage of Spain’s semi-final victory over France on Tuesday night, Pugach mistakenly referred to him as “sir”. Thomas Tuchel’s England will take on reigning world champions Argentina in the second leg of the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday night, the first time the two countries have faced each other in 21 years.
“Harry Kane is desperately trying to do what Sir Bobby Moore did…Bobby Moore. He should have been Sir Bobby Moore. Too bad! Shouldn’t it have been Sir Bobby? He lifted the World Cup,” Pugatch said after Harry Kane and Thomas Tuchel were interviewed by VT to preview the end of the semi-final.
It is hoped that this failure will lead to renewed calls for Mr Moore to be knighted posthumously. Just last year, Sir Geoff Hurst and Sir David Beckham led the campaign for the West Ham and England icon to win the honour.
Hurst, 84, is the only surviving English player to play in the 1966 World Cup final. He said: “Yes, I scored a goal, but I would argue that the captain of a great team is always an important person.
“The treatment he received from class society at the end of his career and his lack of recognition was terrible.
“Forget about football for a moment. Some would argue that he should be knighted twice, one for football and one for his incredible charity work. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of a knighthood in football.”
Meanwhile, Beckham said: “Bobby led England to the World Cup and to the pinnacle of sporting achievement. He was a giant, an incredible leader and one of the greatest players our country has ever produced.”
“I am delighted to join so many other great figures in supporting calls for his contribution to be recognized with a knighthood.”
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Bobby Moore captained the iconic 1966 England team to World Cup glory (Image: Getty)
During this World Cup, Hurst said that current England captain Kane actually reminded him of Moore because of his leadership qualities. The former striker explained: “In all areas of society, whether it’s business or football, there are certain people who come out of the group who automatically see themselves as the boss, the captain.
“In my day, that was obviously Bobby Moore. Last year a West Ham fan sent me a calendar with about 12 photos of Bobby Moore for each month from when he was a student until he left the club in 1974.
“In the first schoolboy photo, I think he was in the U10s or U11s, he was in the team but he was somewhere in the back row. The next year, less than a year after he went there, he was right in the middle as captain, holding the trophy as a schoolboy.”
“That’s what he was like when he was an innocent kid, the way he behaved, and what happened was that at West Ham, the players and the management saw him as the ideal person to be captain and he was chosen as captain.”
“And I think Harry Kane fits exactly the same mold in everything we do together, not only on the field but off the field.”
Should Bobby Moore be posthumously knighted? Have your say in the comments
