England fans fume after BBC commentary 'ruins' Toone's goal vs Australia

16 August 2023 , 11:10

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Ella Toone of England scores her team's first goal in the semi-finals (Image: Brendon Thorne)

Fans have taken to social media in anger after BBC's commentary feed appeared to spoil Ella Toone's goal in England's World Cup semi-final against Australia.

Toone broke the deadlock in style for the Lionesses against the host nation to leave Sarina Wiegman's side on the cusp of securing a place in Sunday's final against Spain.

But the golden moment was 'ruined' for some fans due to the fact that lead commentator Robin Cowen's voice seemed to be out of sync with the live action. An unimpressed fan pointed it out on X, posting: "Have the BBC realised the commentary and sound is in front of the video? Ruined the Toone goal."

Others flocked to various social media apps to vent their frustrations during the half-time interval of Wednesday's big match, at which point England led the game 1-0.

Another posted: "Annoying that the commentary is ahead of the visual. Goal was announced before we saw it!!!"

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Fan complaints over the BBC's commentary feed comes just 24 hours after the broadcaster suffered an embarrassing gaffe during Spain's semi-final clash against Sweden, where images of the Lionesses were shown instead of Spain during the preview of the line-ups.

There were also complaints over the quality of the live match feed during the game, which Spain eventually won 2-1 following a flurry of late goals.

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Toone celebrates after breaking the deadlock in the World Cup semi-final (Daniela Porcelli/Eurasia Sport Images)

Jorge Vilda's side await in Sydney for whomever comes out on top between the Lionesses and Australia. Toone's opener was cancelled out by a thunderbolt from Sam Kerr on the hour mark to leave England's hopes in the balance.

However, while Kerr's stunning solo strike may have roused the 75,000 capacity crowd in attendance at Stadium Austrlia, Lauren Hemp quickly restored England's advantage in the 71st minute with a cool finish following a raking ball forward from skipper Millie Bright.

England headed into the tournament as one of the favourites for glory after winning the European Championships last summer. The Lionesses have never reached the final of the World Cup in their history.

Dan Marsh