Costly cliché leaves bookie in the red

LONDON: “These are nervous moments,” BBC football commentator John Motson said, all of 69 seconds into England’s Euro 2004 quarter-final against Portugal. Back at home, bookmakers groaned. Motson’s swift lapse into sporting cliché ended up costing one bookmaking firm tens of thousands of pounds, thanks to a quirky bet about which of a series of phrases the commentator would trot out first, the Sunday Times reported. Online betting firm Paddy Power gave punters a choice of possible options from Motson, a long-standing BBC television football commentator with a highly distinct turn of phrase, who had no idea about the bets. The favourite, at odds of 10-1, was “boy wonder”, a reference to teenage England striker Wayne Rooney, who had already scored four goals in the preliminary stages of the tournament. David Beckham fans could place bets at 16-1 on Motson referring to him as “Captain Marvel” before any of the other phrases, while the more cautious could take a 25-1 punt on: “What will Sven be saying at half-time?”, a reference to England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. Also at 25-1, the brave could bet on Motson holding out until almost the end of the game on June 24, before starting to talk about “dreaded penalties” to decide the game. Paddy Power spokesman Darren Haines told the Sunday Times that the company had reckoned on “nervous moments” also being saved up until late in the match. “You’d think it’d be the kind of thing you’d say before a penalty shoot-out or in the final seconds, hence the generous price” of 40-1, he said. afp

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