PtG Article 08.12.2010

Jennings criticises UK sports journalists

Investigative reporter Andrew Jennings criticises UK sports journalists for failing to make their own investigations into the corruption allegations against FIFA.

On claims that negative British media coverage had ruined England’s World Cup bid, Jennings said: "It is total tosh. They never should have played, what was the point? It was a bid created on sand – we were going on about how wonderful our facilities were when that’s not how the game is played.”

Jennings instead condemned the UK sports journalists for not looking into the corruption claims against FIFA.   "Why haven’t our reporters spent all this time turning them [FIFA] over? There are some very good reporters around but they don’t seem to work in sports news. "It’s time editors started looking at the garbage that you get from sports news reporters. They are probably the worst in the world. They won’t check, they won’t research and they won’t cultivate the sources that you need to get the documents that reveal what is really going on” Jennings stated.

SOURCE: Press Gazette