Richard Keys appears to be readying himself to enjoy a break during the World Cup after leaving Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports.
The former Sky Sports anchor posted an emotional farewell to Premier League football in May ahead of his impending return to the UK at the end of the season.
It was reported in February that Keys, who has lived in Qatar for 13 years while working as a presenter for beIN Sports, was told by the network that his contract would not be renewed this summer.
Andy Gray, Keys’ long-term broadcasting partner and close friend, is also set to leave the channel and is reportedly planning to return to the UK too.
On the eve of the first match of the World Cup, he wrote on X: ‘To everyone @beINSPORTS_EN. Have a wonderful WC guys. You don’t need me anymore. You’ve been the best for a long time now. Make it count. Make it memorable.’
Keys, 69, is expected to move in permanently with his wife, Lucie Rose, 37, 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.
Richard Keys, 69, is already enjoying life away from TV work with his wife, Lucie Rose, 37
The veteran broadcaster left his role with Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports ahead of the summer World Cup
He wasted no time sharing snaps of his time off alongside Lucie Rose. His first photo, from a week ago, featured Keys and Lucie both in shades and all smiles as they enjoyed the sun.
Keys captioned the photo: ‘No man’s an island.’
A second photo, shared on Thursday, featured the veteran and his partner enjoying the sun, as he looked sunburnt and a little sweaty. The caption read: ‘Stealing moments’, alongside two love hearts and the word ‘me’.
Keys and Gray, 70, have resided in Doha since 2013, two years after they both lost their jobs at Sky Sports in the wake of a sexism scandal.
That came when a series of sexist remarks made by the pair about female assistant referee Sian Massey were picked up and leaked in January 2011 when they thought their microphones were off.
Gray was then 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’, Keys responded: ‘I did more for her, in the early part of her career, than anybody.
Andy Gray, Keys’ long-term broadcasting partner and close friend, will also leave beIN Sports
‘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.’
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.
In February after the reports about their exits broke, a spokesperson for Keys told the Daily Mail: ‘Richard decided some months ago that, after 13 great years, the time had come to leave beIN with Andy. Following his decision it was mutually agreed that his final broadcasts for the channel would be in May this year.’
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