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BBC apologises on air after trainee puts ‘Manchester United are rubbish’ as live news update

"I hope that Manchester United fans weren’t offended by it."

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 24th May 2022

BBC News has been forced to issue an on air apology after viewers noticed the words ‘Manchester United are rubbish’ appear on the live feed.

It’s certainly not something you see every day, but earlier on this afternoon, as thousands of people right across the UK tuned in to watch the 24-hour BBC News channel, an unusual update was posted on the live news ticker while the presenter was running through the highlights and talking points from the ongoing Roland Garros tennis tournament in Paris.

Hidden among the actual news headlines of the day were the hard-hitting words “Manchester United are rubbish”.

“Weather rain everywhere,” was another one of the odd updates.

Given that these followed updates from legitimate news stories such as the rising tensions with the Partygate scandal and the Sue Gray report, many viewers just presumed that their eyes must have been deceiving them and went over to BBC iPlayer to watch it again.

Others took to social media to check if anyone else had seen it too.

In what is a now-viral tweet that has racked up thousands of likes and retweets, TV critic and broadcaster Scott Bryan said: “Errrr… what is going on with the BBC News ticker?”

Other rival football fans understandably “couldn’t believe their eyes”, and took to social media to poke as much fun at the situation as they possibly could.

One person tweeted: “And people say the BBC don’t present factual news anymore”, while another added: “Even BBC News know how bad Manchester United are”, and a third hilariously said: “Legendary. That would go straight onto my CV and website if it was my ‘mistake’.”

“I’m a United fan and it gave me a good laugh. We have indeed been rubbish, BBC News,” another conceded.

After word of the mishap clearly got out and began to spread online, the BBC then made an on air apology to any Manchester United fans they may have “offended”.

The BBC News presenter said: “Just while we’re on the subject of football, a little earlier, some of you may have noticed something pretty unusual on the ticker, that runs along the bottom of the screen with news, making a comment about Manchester United. 

“I hope that Manchester United fans weren’t offended by it, let me just explain what was happening.”

BBC News blamed the error on a trainee, who was “learning to use” the feature.

The news presenter continued: “Behind the scenes, someone was training how to use the ticker and how to put text on the ticker. They were just writing random things, not in earnest, that comment appeared.

“So apologies if you saw that and you were offended and you are a fan of Manchester United.

“But certainly, that was a mistake and it wasn’t meant to be on the screen, that was what happened.

“We just thought we better explain that to you.”

Featured Image – BBC News

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New ‘postboxes of the future’ are being rolled out across the UK

Danny Jones Danny Jones Royal Mail installing new futuristic postboxes

The Royal Mail is starting to roll out its line of so-called “postboxes of the future” across the UK this year, including right here in Greater Manchester.

It has been dubbed the most important and noticeable transformation to the classic British postbox in its entire 175-year history.

The national postal service teased the modern-day upgrade earlier this year, but the revolutionary new upgrade was officially announced this week, with Royal Mail ushering in a new era of digitally-driven units that should make many lives a lot easier – at least in theory.

Although they might look pretty identical to the iconic red boxes since before the turn of the 19th century have used up and down the country, there are marked differences between the new and the old ones.

new solar post boxes great britain
Credit: Royal Mail

The biggest change made to the Royal Mail’s soon-to-be standard design is a digitally activated drop-down drawer, which will be able to fit parcels as big as a shoebox, hopefully saving us Brits on a fair few trips to the post office.

You will be able to scan a barcode via the updated Royal Mail app to activate the drawer for larger items; meanwhile, there will be a separate slot for letters and smaller packages.

Additionally, the new range of high-tech postboxes will also be solar-powered, helping the public limited company chase its ‘green’ targets.

Now owned by parent firm International Distribution Services (IDS) – who also oversee Parcelforce Worldwide – following the UK government’s approval of its historic sale to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský at the end of 2024, the group as a whole is undergoing a significant overhaul.

Britain’s new solar postboxes were first trialled back in April in four towns located throughout the Hertfordshire region: Letchworth Garden City, Ware and Hertford. A fifth was later installed in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire, too.

Despite being quickly considered a success on the whole, the initial design featured an entirely black top, with polls of civilians and Royal Mail themselves agreeing that keeping them red all over was more in keeping with the brand.

It’s like the old school phone box, isn’t it? We can’t picture it any other way.

Speaking in a statement, the Royal Mail‘s managing director of ‘out-of-home and commercial excellence’, Jack Clarkson, said: “We are all sending and returning more parcels than ever before.

“This trend will only continue as online shopping shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the boom of second-hand marketplaces. There are 115,000 postboxes in the UK located within half a mile of 98% of addresses, making them by far the most convenient network of parcel drop-off points in the UK.

“Our message is clear – if you have a Royal Mail label on your parcel, and it fits, put it in a postbox and we’ll do the rest.”

The new generation postboxes are now being made permanent in the same locations, with Edinburgh, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester next.

Keep your eyes peeled on the streets as they’ll soon be making a debut in your area.

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Featured Images – Royal Mail (publicity pictures)

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Rugby Football League to merge second and third divisions from next year

Danny Jones Danny Jones

The Rugby Football League (RFL) has officially announced that it will be combining the Championship and League One divisions next year as part of a larger restructuring.

Besides the push for phasing out automatic promotion and relegation with the top flight, these will be among the biggest changes in the RFL since the creation of the Super League.

Revealing their plans earlier this week, the rugby authority confirmed that the second and third-tier divisions will be merging, with the changes set to be implemented from 2026 onwards.

You can see the statement in full down below, which has been met with a mix of

Confirmed in a lengthier statement online this past Wednesday, 27 August, the update reads: “The RFL Board have confirmed that the Betfred Championship and League One competitions will be combined in a single division outside the Betfred Super League (BSL) in 2026.

“This follows the decision to expand Super League from 12 clubs to 14, subject to conditions – which was taken by the existing Super League clubs last month.

“A number of fixture formats are being developed following consultation with the Championship and League One clubs, but there will be no final announcement until after the number and identity of clubs in each of the two expanded competitions is confirmed, on Thursday, October 16.

“However, the reversion to a single division outside Super League means the Middle Eights that had been scheduled for the end of the 2025 season, as a means of determining promotion and relegation between Championship and League One, will no longer take place.”

It’s also worth noting that these changes will also see the proposed Super 8s end-of-season fixtures scrapped, as the 12 teams set to compete in the playoff-style tournament are obviously now being combined into one league moving forward.

As detailed in the latest communication from the RFL, the League One champions’ prize of £25,000, as well as the usual trophy and medals promised at the start of the season, are still up for grabs; the Championship Play-Offs will still also take place as scheduled.

The winners of the Betfred Championship Grand Final are to receive £100k and 0.25 club grading points.

Commenting on the impending overhaul, Rugby League Commercial Chair Nigel Wood OBE – who headed up the latest strategic review – said: “Following the decision of the Betfred Super League clubs that the elite competition should expand to 14 clubs in 2026, subject to conditions, this is a logical and equally exciting next step.

“The Championship and L1 clubs have been extensively consulted and were virtually unanimous that the two divisional structure for the part-time game wasn’t working as well as it ought, particularly League One – and it is a great credit to the Championship clubs that they recognised that position.”

Reiterating the belief that this is the best way to support and promote “historic and ambitious clubs” outside of the BSL, helping boost attendances, finances and hopefully future investment. It remains a touchy subject for some, though.

Greater Manchester Mayors deliver update on Salford Red Devils situation
The RFL merging divisions may not yet even matter for some.

Speaking of clubs looking for further backing, questions remain over the vetting process for investors and the ‘fit and proper persons tests’ in both rugby and football, especially with the ongoing crisis at Salford Red Devils.

With all that being said, while everyone will have the chance to win the new Championship and perhaps Super League promotion, the likes of Salford are just trying to stay afloat.

Regardless, what do you make of the RFL merging the Championship and League, and do you think it’s the right step for the future of rugby league?

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — RFL

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