Gabby Logan reveals Michael Bublé's DM after BBC coverage row at World Cup opening ceremony

Gabby Logan has revealed that Michael Bublé sent her a lengthy private message after the BBC’s coverage of his World Cup 2026 opening ceremony performance sparked an unexpected public backlash, with the exchange ultimately ending in an invitation to one of his UK shows.

Bublé performed at BMO Field in Toronto ahead of Canada’s opening fixture against Bosnia & Herzegovina — a match that finished 1-1 — but the BBC’s live broadcast did not air his set in full, with Logan and her studio panel talking over portions of it. The BBC’s standard practice is to reserve complete opening ceremony coverage for iPlayer while keeping its live broadcast focused on the football, but that explanation did little to quell criticism from Bublé’s fans, who accused the broadcaster of having ‘ruined’ his performance.

Speaking on The Sports Agents podcast, Logan said the situation escalated when Bublé himself posted a clip of the studio talking over him to his 4.4 million followers on his personal account. “He just left it there,” Logan said, prompting her to send him a direct message apologising and explaining that his full performance had been available on iPlayer.

Bublé’s reply was considered and candid. “He sent back a really long, considered message to me, telling me that it’s a shame in this age that people just look for the humour in something first,” Logan recalled. She acknowledged the point had merit, adding: “I came back and said mea culpa — I never broadcast for clicks and likes but maybe I did intentionally lead my pundits somewhere where I felt there would be a bit of humour.”

The back-and-forth ended on warmer terms than it began. “He said ‘Look Gabby, I appreciate you coming back to me, the BBC have always been so supportive of me, please come to a gig — I’m going to be in the UK soon’,” Logan said. “So I went from feeling like I was going to have the wrath of Bubles on my back for the rest of my life to feeling like we might be mates.”

On the pitch, Canada’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia & Herzegovina gave the co-hosts their first-ever World Cup point. Jovo Lukic had given Bosnia the lead at half-time before substitute Cyle Larin equalised for Jesse Marsch’s side. Canada’s next group fixture is against Qatar, who also drew 1-1 in their opener against Switzerland.