Leicester Tigers head coach Geoff Powell booted TNT Sports and Craig Doyle off the pitch before the Slater Cup match against Gloucester at Villa Park.
TNT Sports host Doyle had challenged Liam MacDevitt, a former footballer and member of the TNT Sports production team, to kick towards the posts during the warm-ups at Villa Park when Powell marched across.
“That’s not on. That’s f—ing not on. Get off the pitch,” Powell said to Doyle before pushing the Irish presenter. Doyle backed away and apologised to viewers for the language. “Geoff’s not happy about that,” he said.
MacDevitt had been challenged to successfully kick a conversion from the tee as part of an “initiation” into the TNT Sports team. “Usually it’s a song or you’ve got to down something disgusting,” Doyle said. “You’re going to kick this ball.”
MacDevitt kicked wide of the posts, with the ball landing near to where the Leicester players were warming up. When Powell walked over to the pair, Doyle asked the Leicester boss: “Would you sign him Geoff?”
But the former England international was not amused, with Doyle also saying Powell was “understandably upset” as they were marched off the pitch.
The incident took place before Leicester convincingly beat Gloucester 36-17 to retain the Slater Cup, with the fixture named in honour of former Gloucester and Leicester lock Ed Slater following his diagnosis with motor neurone disease in 2022.
