Not sure why I bothered as I knew it would be a waste of time, but I complained to the BBC about how they reported Kris Boyd receiving sectarian abuse from Celtic fans on their website.
I copy my complaint and the response. They obviously didn't read my complaint did they?
Complaint description
Kilmarnock player Kris Boyd (ex Rangers) was called an "Orange B**tard" in chants from Celtic fans. he then complained about this. The BBC Scotland web report trivialised this by putting the word sectarian in inverted commas in the article headline, then used the phrase "subjected to WHAT HE CONSIDERS sectarian abuse". There is absolutely no doubt this is sectarian, it is a slur aimed at him only because he is perceived as a Protestant. It is, frankly, ridiculous that the BBC attempt to suggest this is the player being over sensitive or he is mistaken. If this was a Roman Catholic footballer being abused with derogatory chants there would be no doubt put in the mind of the reader like this. There is no name to the article, but I can only assume such blatant double standards and blatant attempt to trivialise something so important is seen as acceptable by the online editor. If the victim of sectarian abuse identifies it, then it is abuse. The BBC does not decide what words or terms offend or break the law. In this case, it was blatantly obvious the words used did offend and were sectarian. If the writer and editor cannot report in a balanced way, they should not be employed by our national broadcaster.
Dear Mr dh
Reference CAS-5323934-46GF8G
Thank you for getting in touch about this BBC Sport Online article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47276671. In the article you refer to, quotations marks are used to illustrate the fact that we are directly reporting Kris Boyd’s view of the incident in question. The quotation marks in no way represent the BBC trivialising or raising doubts about Kris Boyd’s comments and we stand by the accuracy of our reporting. We hope this is helpful, and thanks again for your feedback. We’ve included your comments in our overnight reports, which are among the most widely read sources of feedback in the BBC, ensuring that complaints are seen quickly by the right people.
Kind regards
Danny Brown
BBC Complaints Team
I copy my complaint and the response. They obviously didn't read my complaint did they?
Complaint description
Kilmarnock player Kris Boyd (ex Rangers) was called an "Orange B**tard" in chants from Celtic fans. he then complained about this. The BBC Scotland web report trivialised this by putting the word sectarian in inverted commas in the article headline, then used the phrase "subjected to WHAT HE CONSIDERS sectarian abuse". There is absolutely no doubt this is sectarian, it is a slur aimed at him only because he is perceived as a Protestant. It is, frankly, ridiculous that the BBC attempt to suggest this is the player being over sensitive or he is mistaken. If this was a Roman Catholic footballer being abused with derogatory chants there would be no doubt put in the mind of the reader like this. There is no name to the article, but I can only assume such blatant double standards and blatant attempt to trivialise something so important is seen as acceptable by the online editor. If the victim of sectarian abuse identifies it, then it is abuse. The BBC does not decide what words or terms offend or break the law. In this case, it was blatantly obvious the words used did offend and were sectarian. If the writer and editor cannot report in a balanced way, they should not be employed by our national broadcaster.
Dear Mr dh
Reference CAS-5323934-46GF8G
Thank you for getting in touch about this BBC Sport Online article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47276671. In the article you refer to, quotations marks are used to illustrate the fact that we are directly reporting Kris Boyd’s view of the incident in question. The quotation marks in no way represent the BBC trivialising or raising doubts about Kris Boyd’s comments and we stand by the accuracy of our reporting. We hope this is helpful, and thanks again for your feedback. We’ve included your comments in our overnight reports, which are among the most widely read sources of feedback in the BBC, ensuring that complaints are seen quickly by the right people.
Kind regards
Danny Brown
BBC Complaints Team