British broadcaster ITV fires commentator Robbie Earle over World Cup ticket probe

ITV pundit Earle fired over World Cup ticket probe

LONDON — Former Jamaica midfielder Robbie Earle has been fired as a World Cup commentator for British television station ITV after violating FIFA’s ticket regulations at the tournament in South Africa.

According to the broadcaster, tickets allocated to Earle for Monday’s game between Denmark and the Netherlands were used for “unauthorized purposes” and were passed on to third parties.

ITV said Tuesday that “a substantial number of tickets allocated to Robbie Earle for family and friends have been passed to a third party in breach of FIFA rules,” and that Earle’s contract “has been terminated with immediate effect.”

Earle, also an ambassador for England’s 2018 World Cup bid, said: “Call me naive but I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong.”