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Since taking over the rights to broadcast the Champions League in the United States, CBS Sports’ pre-and-postgame panel of Kate Abdo, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, and Micah Richards has been called the “Inside the NBA of soccer” due to the chemistry between the team.
The show is so well-received, in fact, that soccer fans across the pond in England, who are forced to watch stuff, self-serious pre-and-post game shows, are jealous of the coverage that Americans get of the Champions League.
That lauded laid-back vibe, however, came back to bite them earlier this month, as Carragher got a little too personal with Abdo by mentioning her relationship while on-air.
Making matters worse is the fact that Carragher’s comments had to do with Abdo’s loyalty to her boyfriend, boxing trainer Malik Scottt.
“You are wearing it [an Arsenal kit] next (pointing at Henry), for the last part you are going to wear it,” Carragher said to Abdo.
“I am not. I am loyal,” she replied, prompting Carragher to ask: “To whom?”.
“Manchester United, thank you very much,” Abdo clarified.
Carragher then responded by saying “Not to Malik,” which caused a firestorm on social media. The story became so big, in fact, that Abdo addressed the situation at the start of the next show.
Now, Scott himself has weighed in, saying that if Carragher upsets Abdo again, he might have to “show up in a physical way.”
“If Kate gets upset then it’s a really big deal to me and I’ll give him a call and if he doesn’t pick up my call, then I’ll show up in a physical manner so we can talk like men, so that’s not something you should continue to do,” Scott told the UK website Lord Ping.
Scott did, however, give Carragher credit for apologizing to Abdo.
“But I think Jamie apologized, not just to Kate but to the team, and one thing you can’t do is knock a man who admits he was wrong. In that regard, I have high respect for him.”
The big disconnect with Carragher’s comment is that while many people took it as a statement, it was actually a question.
When asked who she’s loyal to, Carragher — because the crew have become far too comfortable with each other on air — likely thought she was going to respond by saying Malik and was surprised when she didn’t, thus prompting the question.