BBC World Cup presenter Phil Neville "could be dropped" from its live commentary team if England reaches the last 16 of the World Cup after a welter of complaints about his “boring” style during the team’s defeat by Italy, according to Gordon Rayner of the London TELEGRAPH. The BBC said that "it had not yet decided who would provide expert commentary" if England reaches the first knockout round of the tournament -- the next England match to which the BBC would have live broadcast rights. The corporation insisted he remained an “important, well respected” member of its team, but privately "questions have been asked about why the former England midfielder was not more thoroughly road-tested before making his World Cup commentary debut." Neville’s "monotonous contribution" to the England vs. Italy commentary on Saturday night "was widely ridiculed on social networking sites," where he was compared to a robot, a computer and a “Dignitas satnav” (TELEGRAPH, 6/15). In London, Danny Walker reported a BBC spokesperson said, "Phil is an important, well respected member of our team and will continue to play a key role throughout the tournament, both as a studio guest and match commentator.” The BBC said that as scheduled, Neville "will be a studio guest" for Iran vs. Nigeria on Monday, Russia vs. South Korea on Tuesday and Nigeria vs. Bosnia on Saturday. Neville "will also be the co-commentator" for highlights of both England vs. Uruguay on Thursday and the match against Costa Rica on June 24th (DAILY MIRROR, 6/15).
