Communications watchdog Ofcom could launch an investigation into Sky Sports News coverage of football transfer deadline day after viewers complained about fans swearing on camera.
Reporters covering the day's events had to deal with crowds of rowdy supporters outside the grounds and had to apologise several times after foul-mouthed outbursts were broadcast live.
The chaotic scenes on the night included a fan who waved a sex toy at a reporter and TV comic Simon Brodkin turning up in character as his footballer creation Jason Bent, claiming he had signed for Queens Park Rangers to "play in the Premiership this season and in the Championship next season".
Ofcom said eight viewers complained about offensive language.
The complaints are being assessed before the watchdog decides whether to investigate the coverage.
The channel, which broadcast more than 60 live reports on the day, has not had any direct complaints.
Its coverage, fronted by Jim White, has a cult following among fans desperate to discover whom their team have signed before the closure of the transfer window.
The biggest deals this year saw Monaco striker Radamel Falcao join Manchester United on loan, while Danny Welbeck left the Old Trafford club for Premier League rivals Arsenal.
A Sky Sports News spokesman said: "Millions of viewers followed our coverage of transfer deadline day, which included over 270 live reporter updates from outside football clubs over the final 24 hours.
"We apologise to those whose enjoyment was spoiled by a small number of incidents and we're looking into ways to avoid this happening again in the future whilst ensuring fans remain a key part our live coverage."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article