BBC's Pat Nevin breaches accuracy standards over Celtic pitch invasion assault claim

BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Pat Nevin has been found to have breached the corporation’s editorial standards after incorrectly claiming Celtic fans punched Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland during a pitch invasion at Celtic Park, following Celtic’s Scottish Premiership title-clinching 3-1 win over Hearts last season.

Nevin, commentating on the title decider, said he saw “two or three” fans attack Shankland and described the post-match scenes as “sickening” and “unacceptable”. Two listeners subsequently complained that the 63-year-old’s remarks were false, prompting the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) to launch a formal investigation.

The ECU’s ruling acknowledged the chaotic nature of the scenes but concluded that Nevin’s definitive claim that the Hearts captain had been punched fell below the BBC’s accuracy standards. The unit did, however, accept that it was an honest mistake made in the heat of the moment, stating that Nevin and his co-commentators “were trying to give listeners an impression of events as they unfolded, with no opportunity for verification before speaking.”

Nevin issued an apology in his BBC Sport column, writing: “I made a mistake in a commentary at the end of the last game of the Scottish season. From my angle in the gantry I thought I saw a punch thrown, but it appears it was a confrontation or maybe just goading from one of the hundreds of Celtic fans who invaded the pitch just before the end of the game. Goading is not physical violence and I will take it on the chin, the way the Hearts player probably didn’t. My apologies to those offended.”

According to the ECU’s published outcome, Nevin also apologised on air on two separate occasions before issuing the written apology in his newsletter. The finding was formally reported to the management of BBC Sport.

The match itself was a landmark occasion for Celtic, who secured their fifth consecutive Scottish Premiership title and their 56th league championship in total — one more than city rivals Rangers — making them the most decorated club in Scottish football history.