Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney TV takeover criticised by Swansea chief in programme notes

Swansea City chief executive Tom Gorringe has called out Sky Sports and their coverage of their Championship clash against Wrexham.

Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the co-owners of Wrexham, took part in a special watchalong of the match last week.

Getty

They featured as guest commentators for the match on Sky Sports Football, whilst the normal coverage was on Sky Sports Main Event.

At one stage, presenter David Prutton needed to intervene during their commentary and claim that their comments were ‘subjective’.

This came after Reynolds and McElhenney appeared to suggest that Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho dived in their FA Cup clash.

Wrexham beat Swansea 2-0, with their owners’ celebrations for both goals caught on the broadcast.

Gor blimey

The coverage did not sit well with Swans chief Gorringe though, as he penned his complaints ahead of their match against Coventry City.

In his programme notes for the clash at home to the Championship leaders on Saturday, via the BBC, he hinted at a lack of impartiality.

“We have the Sky Sports cameras in attendance once again, although hopefully coverage of this fixture will be more balanced than what we witnessed around our game at Wrexham last weekend,” he said.

“While I don’t think anyone would dispute that we want to continue to grow the profile of the EFL product, the means by which we do so should be balanced and impartial.

“In my view, the build-up to and coverage of the game itself left a lot to be desired on those particular scores.”

The BBC claim that Sky Sports believe their match coverage was ‘fair and balanced’, with former Swansea player Ashley Williams a pundit.

Getty

Gorringe added: “With the production being done by Rob and Ryan’s own production company, all of the guests and focus was on their team, there were celebrations with David Prutton – the face of Sky’s EFL coverage – and the advert for the commentary of the game failed to mention that we were playing at all.

“It felt to myself and a number of members of our staff that we were very much an afterthought and that our hosts were given priority at every opportunity, and as a club we would strongly suggest that greater critical thought is given to how these situations are handled moving forward.

“This is a position that I will discuss with the EFL next week.”

Wrexham’s end-of-season chances

Victory over Swansea handed Wrexham a huge boost to their hopes of reaching the Championship play-offs.

Watford then beat them 3-1, but a 2-1 win away at Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon has put them back on track.

Wrexham are seventh and only behind sixth-placed Southampton on goal difference with seven matches to play.