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CBS Sports’ Champions League analyst and former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher ruffled some feathers earlier this week with a comment he made to his co-worker Kate Abdo during a live broadcast.
Following Tuesday’s Round of 16 Champions League match between Arsenal and Porto in London, Abdo, Carragher, and fellow co-hosts Thierry Henry and Micah Richards were hosting the post-match show from a pitchside desk.
While the group was jokingly discussing where their football loyalties lie, Carragher said “Not to Malik” in reference to Kate Abdo’s partner, boxing trainer Malik Scott.
Carragher’s comments immediately ignited backlash, with many condemning his lack of professionalism.
At the start of the Wednesday broadcast prior to Inter Milan vs. Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund vs. PSV Eindhoven, Abdo addressed the situation head-on and is earning widespread praise for how she handled it.
While introducing her trio of analysts, Abdo detailed how, in the 3.5 years they’ve been working together, they’ve become like a family, with Henry feeling like the older brother, Richards acting like the younger brother, and Carragher being the middle child.
“[Carragher] is the middle child [who has] the chip on his shoulder, capable of saying anything for attention Does he go too far sometimes? Absolutely. Does he apologise? Yes he does. But all of us have that one annoying family member that we still love and accept.”
“Kate Abdo is absolutely class man, she handled this whole thing so well. In today’s world 99% of people would’ve played the ‘cancel’ card and gotten Carragher off the show. Others should aspire to act like her in such scenarios,” one viral tweet read.
“Kate Abdo is amazing at what she does. Handled like a Queen,” read another popular tweet.
Abdo, Carragher, Henry, and Richards will return to the CBS Sports/Paramount+ airwaves when the quarterfinals of the Champions League kicks off on Tuesday, April 9.
The teams that make up the eight Champions League quarterfinalists are Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, and Manchester City.