England win Euro 2025 and Rio and co. score points over BBC coverage

Editor F365
England women with Rio Ferdinand.
England women with Rio Ferdinand.

The BBC come under fire for not choosing Rio Ferdinand’s mate for their Euro 2025 coverage as the broadcaster is urged to ‘grow up’…

 

Here come the boys…
England’s women won Euro 2025 on Sunday. It was f***ing brilliant. It’s truly wonderful to see wall-to-wall coverage across the football media on Monday but Mediawatch cannot help but notice that there’s a theme: Men.

Two of the top five stories on Mirror football on Monday morning – alongside the now-ubiquitous ‘inside the celebrations’ content gleaned from Instagram – are based on comments from male pundits. Because what’s better than England’s women? Men talking about England’s women, of course.

‘Rio Ferdinand slams BBC over coverage of England vs Spain Euro 2025 Final’ screams a Mirror headline that is echoed across the internet with GB News – never knowingly underselling their contempt for a certain broadcaster – opting for ‘Rio Ferdinand calls out BBC for England and Spain Euro 2025 final decision’ and the Express going for ‘BBC slammed for England vs Spain Euro 2025 final coverage as Man Utd icon hits out’.

‘Slammed’, ‘hits out’, ‘calls out’…there’s some seriously strong words from one incredibly short tweet…

By the by, here’s Fara Williams at the final. And she seems okay really; she doesn’t look like she needs saving by Rio…

What’s missing from all the coverage – and there’s a lot – of what Ferdinand said about the BBC is that he is an ‘ambassador and mentor’ for New Era Global Sports Management, which also happens to represent Fara Williams.

So what is greedily sold as Ferdinand ‘slamming’ the BBC is actually just a man seeking publicity for himself and a co-worker. And it really should not detract from England’s actual double European champions.

Talking of which…

‘Sarina Wiegman proves Ian Wright wrong in Euro 2025 Final after ‘massive mistake” – Mirror.

Think he’ll probably cope, what with being absolutely f***ing chuffed that England won and that.

 

All grown up
Leaning into an anti-BBC agenda, the Daily Telegraph reviewed the TV offerings and concluded: ‘ITV beat the BBC, but all TV coverage of women’s football needs to grow up.’

The problem? That’s not actually what the article says.

It says, and we quote: ‘Women’s football is, as yet, still part elite sport and part feelgood story and social project and the coverage reflects that but it will be really interesting to see if there’s room for a Roy Keane or Alan Hansen type in a few years as the TV coverage matures.’

‘It will be really interesting to see if there’s room for a Roy Keane or Alan Hansen type in a few years’ is nowhere close to ‘all TV coverage of women’s football needs to grow up’, but why let that stand in the way of the latest of very many anti-BBC headlines. We’re just shocked nobody blamed the BBC coverage on the trans folks…

 

Bank job
Elsewhere, there’s a hell of a lot of coverage of the ‘decision’ not to award us all a bank holiday for England’s victory, which is not actually a ‘decision’ at all as there is literally zero precedent.

There was no bank holiday in 1966 when England’s men won the World Cup, none in 2022 when England’s women last won the Euros and none for any other sporting achievement.

Indeed, the only ‘extra’ bank holidays this century have been for a royal wedding, jubilees, a funeral and a coronation.

‘No10 confirms if there will be bank holiday for Euros win after Lionesses soared to victory with penalty heroics’ – says The Sun, which is a very convoluted way of saying there will be no bank holiday.

‘England Lionesses LIVE: Fans given urgent warning as bank holiday decision confirmed’ says the Express, who are boldly trying to fill a LIVE blog of an ‘event’ which is basically some women waking up with a hangover and going home.

As for the ‘urgent warning’, it basically boils down to fans being advised not to meet them at the airport. Which will presumably be ignored and lead here again…

 

You are what you cheat
‘Revealed: Hannah Hampton’s penalty shoot-out ‘cheat sheet’ – that she taped to her ARM! How Lionesses goalkeeper’s homework helped her side triumph over Spain’ – MailOnline.

‘Eagle-eyed fans left stunned at where England keeper Hannah Hampton kept her penalty ‘cheat sheet’ before stunning win’ – The Sun.

It was literally on the telly, guys.

Oh and it’s not ‘cheating’.

Mediawatch