SBS has denied reports that one of its sports reporters was dismissed because he criticised SBS’s football boss Les Murray on an episode of ABC’s 7:30 and on a sports blog.
It was reported that Davidde Corran was advised via email that his services would no longer be required after he finished covering the current FIFA under-20 World Cup in Colombia.
Corran appeared on 7:30 where he discussed Les Murray’s positions as the SBS Sport editorial supervisor and as a member of the ethics committee of FIFA.
Corran said on the show: “The issues I have personally had trouble with have all related to essentially theWorld Cup bid, Australia’s World Cup bid for the 2022 World Cup and before that the 2018 World Cup. In particular, the issues – the trouble I’ve ran into is when covering what other consultants, Football Federation Australia, hired, Peter Hargitay.”
7:30 stated that members of the SBS team had been pressured into producing pieces that supported Australia’s bid for the 2022 World Cup.
However, SBS rubbished the claims, saying in a statement: “SBS refutes the suggestion that Les Murray instructed SBS staff to have no regard for impartiality in relation to the Australian bid to host the World Cup, nor did he instruct staff to report negatively on other nation’s bids.
“SBS refutes the suggestion that Les Murray’s position on the FIFA ethics committee conflicts with his position as SBS’s editorial supervisor, sport. Mr Fink, during his time with SBS, has expressed a range of views on matters relating to FIFA, the FFA and football generally, none of which were curtailed at the direction of Les Murray.”
SBS says that Corran was only ever employed “on a freelance basis . . . and his arrangement is on a project-by-project basis.”
Source: TV Tonight
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