Mark Chapman has revealed why he has grown “fed up” with a particular aspect of the World Cup coverage. The BBC presenter has taken umbrage at the frequency with which celebrities are shown on screen while attending matches at the tournament.
Chapman has been a prominent presenter throughout the BBC‘s coverage of the tournament, while ITV have also been airing matches from North America over the past week. Neither broadcaster, however, is responsible for the footage shown, as the host broadcaster supplies the images.
Several high-profile stars have already been spotted in attendance at World Cup fixtures. David Beckham and Tom Cruise are among the most notable.
Chapman elaborated on a podcast alongside fellow hosts Gabby Logan and Nedum Onuoha on his reservations about celebrities being featured on screen, drawing on his firsthand experience at the tournament. He asked on The Sports Agents podcast: “Am I being a bit grumpy here when I say I’m fed up with cutaways to famous people in the crowd?
“I mean, listen, we do it in this country as well, and it winds me up. Like, I heard Colin (Murray) say this yesterday – I know that Noel Gallagher’s at a (Manchester) City game, I don’t need to see him every time! But now it’s like [David] Beckham and [Tom] Cruise… Rod Stewart 27 times the other night at Foxborough!”
He added: “Occasionally on some live games that I’ve done, when you do the build-up, and occasionally they’ve then cut someone up in the crowd, and I’ve looked out, and I’ve thought, ‘I’ve absolutely no idea who [that is].’ And then they’ll tell me in my ear who it is, and I’m thinking, ‘I still have absolutely no idea who that is!'”
Chapman, however, is enjoying the matches. On the subject of hosts United States against Paraguay, he said: “They were great! They were really entertaining, and they could have had more.
“There have been some really entertaining games, and some really good performances already. Actually, I thought the Dutch and Japan were great last night; some of the football Ecuador played in the first half against the Ivory Coast was great.”