The BBC have issued an apology for their reporting of the death of former Liverpool Women manager Matt Beard. The broadcaster came under fire for including specific details about the method Beard used to take his own life, based on a coroner’s hearing, in the headline and body of a story published on the BBC Sport website on Monday, September 29.
The article was also sent out as a push notification to users of the site, which boasts 8.5 million active accounts weekly. In a statement, the BBC said: “It was not appropriate to include specific details of Matt Beard’s tragic death in a recent headline and push notification reporting on the coroner’s court hearing. We sincerely apologise for the distress this may have caused and will ensure that all future coverage of sensitive issues strictly follows best practice and established guidelines.”
The broadcaster’s own editorial policy states that “references to suicide should be avoided in headlines unless editorially justified,” with the BBC admitting that their approach to the reporting was “not appropriate.”
It comes after Coroner John Griffiths shared the details of Beard’s death at the age of 47 at a coroner’s court hearing on Monday. He explained that paramedics were called to Beard’s Deeside home in Flintshire before he was rushed to hospital, but tragically passed away at 9.15pm on Saturday, September 20.
Tributes have poured in from across the footballing world for Beard, who had successful managerial spells with Liverpool, West Ham and Chelsea. A minute’s silence was observed before all WSL and WSL2 matches on Sunday September 21, while Liverpool’s match against Aston Villa was postponed.
Among the heartfelt tributes was a series of posts from his devastated son, Harry. He shared photos of himself and his father on social media, writing: “Love you dad, 78-25. Always will miss you,” alongside another image of him holding his father’s hand, captioned: “Suicide is never the answer, reach out. Call 111, or 999. Please don’t take your own life, we all miss you Dad.”
Harry also posted a video showing Beard diving into a pool, with the message: “Never failed to make me laugh, even when having a bad day, he always used to say, ‘I bet I can make you smile’ and he always did.”
Liverpool FC also issued a statement following Beard’s passing, which read: “The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Matt’s family and friends at this devastating time. Matt was not only an extremely committed and successful manager, he was also a person of real integrity and warmth, who will always be remembered with genuine fondness by everyone he worked with at the club.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United boss Marc Skinner has hailed Beard as an “icon” while England legend Fara Williams described him as “one of a kind and had the purest of souls.”
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