23 February 2023 , 13:40
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The legendary John Motson was in fine form at a football match just a fortnight before his death, it has emerged.
Motson, who become one of football's most iconic and adored commentators during a broadcasting career which spanned over 50 years, sadly passed away at the age of 77 on Thursday.
His family confirmed the news in a statement, which read: "It is with great sadness we announce that John Motson OBE died peacefully in his sleep today (Thursday)."
Motson began working for the BBC back in 1971 and covered 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships, 29 FA Cup finals and more than 200 England matches before he retired back in 2018. But Motson still attended games regularly - and comedian Tim Vine has revealed on that he was sat next to Motson at a football match just a fortnight ago.
Vine, who took to Twitter to pay tribute on Thursday afternoon, detailed how Motson was in attendance at League Two outfit Sutton United earlier this month - and that he was even treated to one of the broadcaster's famous lines.
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Vine tweeted: "About 2 weeks ago Motty came to a match at Sutton United. I had the honour of sitting next to him. I remember a moment of goal mouth action and on my right I heard ‘ohh’. The classic Motty exclamation. Made me beam with joy. To my generation he was the voice of football. RIP x".
Other tributes for Motson have already poured in : he was a regular on Match of the Day during his illustrious career, and current Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker led the tributes on Thursday, where he described Motson as “a quite brilliant commentator and the voice of football in this country for generations”.
John Motson covered nearly 2,500 games over 50 years (Clive Rose/Getty Images)Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler also paid tribute and said that Motson was the standard-bearer for those that followed. “John was the standard-setter for us all,” Tyler said. “We basically all looked up to him – his diligence, his dedication, his knowledge. He was a very serious broadcaster but he was a real fun guy to be around.”
ITV Sport commentator Clive Tyldesley also reacted to Motson's passing on Twitter. He wrote: “As a teenager I just wanted to be John Motson. Nobody else.”
BT Sport commentator Darren Fletcher, who is now the voice of Champions League football, also reacted to the news and paid tribute in a tweet. He said: "This is such sad news - an iconic commentator with his own distinctive and brilliant style. The soundtrack to my youth watching football."
The Football Supporters Association also released a statement following Motson's death which read: "Very sad news about legendary commentator John Motson who has died aged 77 today. John was awarded a lifetime achievement award by supporters at our awards ceremony back in 2017 - John was a gent that night and it was a pleasure to have him along. RIP Motty."