ITV fires Earle over World Cup tickets

ITV has fired pundit Robbie Earle over the distribution of his family and friends World Cup tickets.

Following an investigation by the broadcaster, the former footballer - who has worked with ITV1 since 2001 - was found to have passed his ticket allocation to a third party. His actions breached governing body FIFA's regulations.

In a statement, the channel said: "Immediate investigations indicated that a block of ITV tickets would appear to have been used for unauthorised purposes during the Holland v Denmark match.

"Further enquiries have revealed that a substantial number of tickets allocated to Robbie Earle for family and friends have been passed to a third party in breach of FIFA rules.

"As a result, Robbie Earle’s contract with ITV has been terminated with immediate effect."

ITV were looking into their distribution system after claims from FIFA that tickets were being used for ambush marketing.