THE BBC has rejected claims its coverage of the Euro 2020 championship has been biased in favour of England.
The corporation issued a strong rebuttal after being contacted by a number of viewers who claimed to be unhappy about pro-English comments.
Among those who criticised the coverage was Alba MP Kenny MacAskill, who called for a devolution of the BBC claiming the channel frequently aired Paul Gascoigne's goal against Scotland in 1996 in the build-up to England v Scotland at Euro 96.
The East Lothian MP, who defected from the SNP to Alex Salmond's Alba Party this year, previously said: “Scots are sick of the constant mentions.
“Scots are scunnered with Euro commentators’ endless mentioning of the glories of ’66 and Gazza’s goal.
"The need to see the world through a Scottish lens is clear. It’s time the Scottish Government spoke out rather than standing on the sidelines.”
READ MORE: Scottish MP calls for devolution of BBC due to 'pro-England pundits' during the Euros
Responding to recent complaints, the BBC said their broadcasts had featured “expertise and experience” to fans across the UK, including using pundits like James McFadden and Shelley Kerr.
In a statement, the BBC said: "We’ve received some complaints about our Euro 2020 coverage, from people who think our commentators or presenters are biased in favour of England.
"This year, our Euro team features a line-up of England, Scotland, and Wales experts, including Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand, Micah Richards, Alex Scott, Jermaine Jenas, Mark Hughes, Ashley Williams, Robbie Savage, James McFadden and Shelley Kerr.
"Dedicated team coverage will also be provided by home nations experts; Kelly Somers for England, Eilidh Barbour for Scotland, and Carl Roberts for Wales. We also feature international representation through Jurgen Klinsmann, Cesc Fabregas, Petr Cech and Eric Abidal.
"We are proud of the expertise and experience that our team are bringing to football fans across the UK, and don’t agree that our line-up shows any bias towards any one team."
They added: "Our football coverage is watched by a very diverse audience, each with differing views and opinions, and for that reason we aim to reflect those across our programmes.
"We believe we’ve put together a very strong line-up of presenters, pundits, and commentators including ex-professional players/managers and football experts.
"We appreciate that not everyone will enjoy every one of our presenters, pundits, or commentators, but we are proud of the range of talent and expertise our Euros 2020 team bring to our coverage."
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