This is the kind of broadcast error that never quite stays small, no matter how quickly it is corrected. Pat Nevin made a claim in the heat of a frantic Celtic v Hearts finale, then apologised for it twice on air and again in a Sport newsletter. But the Executive Complaints Unit has still drawn a clear line: the comments fell below editorial standards of accuracy.
That matters because this was no ordinary end-of-season scrap. The Celtic v Hearts game on May 16, 2026 was a crunch match that would decide the Scottish Premiership, and the closing scenes were chaotic enough to leave commentators trying to make sense of events as they unfolded. Celtic won after two very late goals, with the second coming eight minutes into extra time, and fans stormed the pitch afterwards. In that atmosphere, Nevin said on Radio 5 Live that Lawrence Shankland had been punched by a group of Celtic fans.
Why the ruling landed so hard
Two people complained to the after the match, and the complaint was upheld. The Executive Complaints Unit said the remark was below the ’s editorial standards of accuracy, while also accepting that the error was honest and made in the heat of the moment. The ruling also noted that the scenes at the end were chaotic and that Nevin and his co-commentators had no opportunity for verification before speaking.
That is a fair explanation, but it does not erase the central problem. Nevin did not merely speculate; he stated the allegation as fact. In live commentary, that distinction is everything. Say you are unsure. Say the scene is unclear. Say it looked like trouble. But once you declare that a player has been punched, you have crossed from description into assertion. If that assertion is wrong, the damage is immediate.
The said the finding had been reported to the management of Sport, which underlines how seriously it regarded the issue. Nevin, for his part, did not wait to be dragged to an apology. He apologised twice on air on his own initiative and later acknowledged the mistake in a Sport newsletter published on August 3.
What Nevin said, and why it matters
In that newsletter, Nevin said he thought he saw a punch thrown from his position in the gantry, but later felt it appeared to be a confrontation or perhaps goading from one of the hundreds of Celtic fans who had invaded the pitch just before the end of the game. He also said, in his own words, that nobody is perfect. That is true enough. The issue is not whether broadcasters can make mistakes; they obviously can. The issue is whether the mistake was handled with the honesty and speed the situation demanded. On that front, Nevin at least did not try to bury it.
Still, the ruling is a reminder that live football broadcasting lives on the edge of credibility. In the most chaotic moments, the job is not to overstate what cannot be confirmed. It is to keep the audience informed without turning confusion into certainty. Nevin’s apology may soften the blow, but the ’s conclusion stands: this was an honest error, and it was still below standard.
For a pundit in Nevin’s position, that is the uncomfortable truth. The apology helps, but it does not remove the fact that a serious claim was made about Lawrence Shankland, and the has now formally said it should not have been stated as fact.
