A British commentator has been reprimanded by her employer after promoting a designer during her coverage of the 2022 World Cup.
Alex Scott, a former professional soccer player turned BBC broadcaster, allegedly irked her bosses after tagging the British fashion brand Reiss — whom she is a brand ambassador for — in a recent Instagram post that featured her in-studio at the World Cup in Qatar. The practice of “promoting commercial deals is frowned upon by the BBC,” according to the Daily Mail, which obtained a statement from the outlet addressing the matter.
“We have spoken with Alex, who has removed the tag and will not be repeating this,” a BBC spokesperson said in a statement.
The post in question features Scott, who once competed for England’s national team, sitting at the desk wearing an orange blazer, matching trousers, a silk shirt and sparkly heels.
“Work Vibing World Cup stuff with @bbcfootball @bbcsport,” the 38-year-old Scott captioned the Dec. 5 post.
Scott has been sharing her experiences at the World Cup on social media throughout the tournament. Prior to England’s Group B opener versus Iran last month, Scott posted a photo of herself on the pitch wearing a “OneLove” armband, expressing support for the anti-discrimination campaign.
Players who intended to wear the “OneLove” armband at the tournament, including England’s captain Harry Kane, were threatened by FIFA with on-field punishments.
In addition to Kane, the captains of Denmark, Wales, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands, where the “OneLove” campaign originated, intended the wear the armbands before abandoning the initiative.
“As national federations we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings,” the seven soccer federations said in a joint statement at the time.
Host nation Qatar has continuously come under fire since being awarded the World Cup hosting rights in 2010, due in large part to its treatment of migrant workers and the social climate, in which homosexuality is considered a crime.
