Disgraced former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys has insisted he is ‘not retiring’ after breaking his silence on leaving his role at beIN Sports this summer.
Keys has personally addressed his departure at the end of his latest blog post, declaring there is ‘a whole lot more to come’.
Reports emerged last week that Keys had been told by the network that his contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the season.
It was also reported that Andy Gray Keys’ long-term broadcasting partner and close friend, will also leave beIN Sports this summer.
The broadcasting duo are both said to be moving back to the UK, with a report by the Telegraph claiming last week that they were considering retirement.
A spokesman for Keys last week told the Daily Mail that both Keys and Gray had decided to leave beIN, with it ‘mutually agreed that his final broadcasts for the channel would be in May this year.’
Richard Keys has insisted ‘I’m not retiring’ after breaking his silence on his departure from beIN Sports this summer
Andy Gray, Keys’ long-term broadcasting partner and close friend, will also leave beIN Sports
Reports claimed Keys will return to the UK to move in with his 37-year-old wife, Lucie Rose, with whom he has been in a long-distance relationship since they secretly wed in a £20,000 ceremony in 2023
In his blog post, Keys wrote: ‘There has been no fall out between myself and beINSPORTS.’
‘I’ve loved every minute of my time in Qatar – a country that means the world to me.
‘I have a deep affection for it, but it’s time for me to move on.
‘I’m not retiring – simply changing course. There’s a whole lot more to come yet.’
Keys and Gray, 70, have resided in Doha since 2013, two years after their Sky Sports exit in the wake of a sexism scandal.
A series of sexist remarks made by Keys and Gray about female assistant referee Sian Massey were picked up and leaked in January 2011 when they thought their microphones were off.
Gray was sacked by Sky Sports after a video showing him making inappropriate comments to presenter Charlotte Jackson was released. Keys resigned from his £500,000-a-year role shortly afterwards.
The shamed ex-Sky Sports host later threatened legal action against Match of the Day presenter Gabby Logan after her 2022 memoir The First Half accused the duo of making sexist remarks about her pregnancy on board a flight to the 2005 Champions League final.
After he and Gray were labelled ‘dinosaurs waiting to become extinct’ by Logan, Keys responded: ‘I did more for her, in the early part of her career, than anybody.
‘Andy and I were easy targets. It’s easy to have a go at us. I don’t intend to see her in court, but I think there are things that can be settled away from that.’
Lucie Rose, above, was previously one of Keys’ daughter’s best friends before their romance
Keys (centre) pictured with his ex-wife Julia (left) and their daughter Jemma (right)
Gray added: ‘I was really disappointed. My life’s about today and tomorrow, not 10 years ago. Or in that alleged case, 17 years ago. I want to move on with my life.’
Since joining beIN Sports, Keys and Gray have fronted coverage of the Premier League and Champions League across 24 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, while also presenting for the network at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
According to The Telegraph, Keys, 68, is set to move in permanently with his 37-year-old wife, Lucie Rose, with whom he has been in a long-distance relationship since they secretly married in a private £20,000 ceremony in Devon in June 2023.
His son Joshua and daughter Jemma, who was previously one of Lucie Rose’s closest friends before her romantic involvement with Keys, did not attend the wedding.
The presenter split with Julia Keys after 36 years of marriage when news of his shock relationship emerged in 2016, with his ex-wife revealing how the affair ‘devastated’ her as she recovered from thyroid cancer and also wrecked the lives of their two children.
Julia said the affair ruined the career of her Hollyoaks actress daughter as she spiralled into alcoholism and depression. Jemma also faced legal action over a string of abusive texts she sent to Lucie Rose before charges were dropped by prosecutors.
