Carragher suspended by Sky Sports after being filmed spitting at family
Jamie Carragher will not appear on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football programme and is suspended indefinitely from punditry duties with the broadcasting company after he was filmed spitting at a family from his own vehicle.
The retired Liverpool defender issued an apology on Twitter for the incident on Sunday, and blamed his behaviour on being "goaded" three or four times as he travelled on the motorway following his former side's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United the previous day.
Sky says it has suspended Jamie Carragher from his duties as a football analyst after he was filmed spitting at a family in their car following Liverpool's defeat to Manchester United on Saturday and says his actions were "well below the standards we expect of our people"
— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) March 12, 2018
"The most important people who were probably mostly affected by it are the family involved, especially the young 14-year-old daughter," he said in a televised apology on Sky News.
When asked why he did it, he added: "A moment of madness really that is difficult for me to explain. Watching those clips back it feels like almost an out-of-body thing, it's just that moment of madness for four or five seconds. No matter what the circumstances for anyone, you can't ever behave like that. That is just unacceptable."
Carragher appeared extremely distressed about the age of the girl, noting that he has a daughter the same age.
"All's I can do right now is apologise as much as I possibly can because obviously I can't go back," he continued. "I've done that with the family, hopefully they accept that."
Carragher said it "remains to be seen" whether Sky keeps him on as a pundit, and hopes "five seconds of madness" don't act as an overall reflection of his character. The Guardian's Martha Kelner believes he won't be on Sky Sports for at least a week, and revealed that he has also been suspended from Danish broadcaster TV3's coverage of Manchester United and Sevilla's Champions League meeting on Tuesday.
"Disappointed obviously. A little bit upset," a clearly shaken Carragher responded when asked how his own children reacted to the video footage and subsequent media furor.