A handful of fans have claimed that Micah Richards could be sacked from his role as a CBS Sports pundit after making an inappropriate joke on Tuesday night.
The ex-Manchester City defender, who since his retirement has established himself as one of the most popular and prominent pundits in football, left Jamie Carragher in stitches with a two-word comment after reacting to footage of fan on CBS.
As part of the American network’s coverage of Arsenal’s triumphant 3-0 win over Real Madrid and Bayern Munich’s 2-1 defeat by Inter Milan, presenter Kate Scott showed Richards and Carragher a clip from the Allianz Arena of supporter accidentally spilling her drink in her face after getting overexcited.
The CBS pundits both immediately laughed upon viewing the humorous video, prompting Richards to turn to Carragher and Scott with a suggestive expression and say: ‘No comment.’
The remark caused Carragher to burst out laughing again and turn towards Scott before placing his head on the CBS desk, while Richards sheepishly organised his notes.
Some fans felt the implication behind Richards’ two-word comment could land the pundit in hot water with CBS, labelling it ‘needlessly crude and objectifying’.
Fans have claimed that Micah Richards could be sacked after making an inappropriate joke
He was reacting to a clip of a Bayern Munich fan accidentally spilling her drink in her face
After Richards’ remark, Jamie Carragher cracked up before putting his head on the table
‘Micah Richards is about to get sacked on-air there’s no way he said what he just said,’ a CBS viewer posted to social media platform X.
‘Might not escape this,’ a second said, accompanying their post with laughing and crying emojis.
A third fan added: ‘Of course people think it’s wokeness gone mad and I know he likes being edgy but I think Micah Richards shouldn’t have made that joke about the Bayern fan who spilt beer on her face… just needlessly crude and objectifying. “no comment” is still a comment.’
Agreeing, another supporter said: ‘He absolutely knew what he was doing when he said that.’
Several fans have leapt to the defence of Richards, however, claiming there was little wrong with his ‘no comment’ remark.
‘He’s not getting sacked for that,’ one supporter posted on X.
Another fan said with a facepalm emoji: ‘You think he’s getting sacked for saying “no comment”?’
A third social media user has claimed that those ‘behind the scenes’ at CBS should be held accountable for Richards’ comment.
Some fans took to social media to label Richards’ comment ‘needlessly crude and objectifying’
Others leapt to Richards’ defence, claiming the former Man City star had done little wrong
‘Don’t think it’s Micah Richard’s fault actually. He’s not in production, he shouldn’t have been shown the clip in the first place,’ they said.
‘Once he’s shown it however he kind of has to react for the sake of the show. People behind the scenes should be held more accountable.’
Scott, Richards, Carragher and fellow pundit Thierry Henry, who was working pitchside for the network on Tuesday, do not shy away from jokes or tongue-and-cheek comments on CBS, taking regular opportunity to banter each other or make each other laugh.
Earlier in the season, Richards sparked hilarity with a series of innuendos about French club Stade Brestois – or Brest for short – during the Champions League group stage.
The pundits were reacting to the competitions’ debutants recording a stunning 4-0 win over RB Salzburg in October.
‘It’s a big one,’ Henry said, looking ahead to the Ligue 1 side’s Champions League fixture at the time.
Richards then commented: ‘It’s a bit lopsided I think.’
His remark sent several members of the production crew into hysterics, while host Scott covered her face to conceal her laughter.
Carragher (left), Richards (second left) and Thierry Henry (right) are not shy of making tongue-and-cheek jokes on CBS. The punditry team pictured with France legend Marcel Desailly
Back in October, Richards made a series of innuendos about Champions League club Brest
In a later CBS show, it was joked that Richards had been told by the production team to remain silent while the team discussed Brest’s exploits in the Champions League.
‘We are going to do a segment about Brest, but unfortunately we do feel that you have consistently proven you can’t stay professional in these segments, so production would like to ask if you feel comfortable remaining silent?’ Scott asked Richards, jokingly.
The panel then embarked on a segment filled with hilarious innuendos and double entendres, deliberately designed to make Richards laugh and test his self control.
CBS Sports’ Champions League coverage continues on Wednesday for Aston Villa’s huge clash against PSG and Dortmund’s trip to Barcelona.
