ITV fires Earle over World Cup tickets

[dutchman]

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.