Oh, danger here!

IT’S THE END of the world as we know it.

Apparently. Tonight, ‘Match Of The Day’ will make a bit of television history in these islands when a female voice will be heard commentating on a football game for the first time. Jacqui Oatley, 32, makes the leap to the small screen after establishing her credentials on Radio Five Live but even before she takes the mic for Fulham v Blackburn, enraged critics of the move have lunged in, studs up, clearly intent on getting their retaliation in first.

It would be laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic. Take cartoon gaffer (sorry, ex-gaffer) Dave Bassett. “I am totally against it and everybody I know in football is totally against it,” he says. “The problem is that everybody is too scared to admit it. I knew this would happen eventually. The world of football is so politically correct these days. I’m completely relaxed about women presenting football shows. But commentating is different. You must have an understanding of the game and the tactics and I think in order to do that you need to have played the game.”