BBC Match of the Day 2 subtitles refer to Newcastle as 'black and white scum' during draw to Liverpool

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The BBC fell foul of a subtitling error on Sunday night after Match of the Day 2 referred to Newcastle United as “black and white scum” during the highlights of their game with Liverpool.

As the 1-1 draw was being shown, commentator Guy Mowbray could be heard discussing Reds striker Daniel Sturridge, who was starting in place of Roberto Firmino, and his fine goalscoring record at St James’ Park, where he has scored five goals in five games against Newcastle.

“Sturridge has scored in all four of his previous Premier League starts at Newcastle,” Mowbray could be heard saying. “For the Reds against the team in black and white, he boasts five goals in five appearances.

However, the subtitles flashed up with something slightly different, as it referred to Newcastle as “the black and white scum”.

A BBC spokesperson said: “Our live subtitling service is normally very accurate and makes our content much more accessible, but there are times when unfortunate errors occur. On this occasion the error was spotted and corrected immediately.”

The Magpies are often called that by their north-east rivals although it was just an honest mistake given that all subtitles, especially on live programmes like Match of the Day 2, are done by computer.

Newcastle went on to draw the game after Joselu bundled in the equaliser following Philippe Coutinho’s long-range opener.