Gabby Logan has spoken about a surprising exchange with Michael Buble after the BBC presenter faced controversy over her coverage of the singer's performance at the World Cup opening ceremony.
Background of the Controversy
Canadian musician Buble was one of the stars of his country's opening ceremony, with all three host nations showcasing home talent. He performed ahead of the opening fixture, which Canada drew 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Speaking on The Sports Agents podcast, Logan mentioned that the BBC has, across multiple tournaments, saved full opening ceremonies for iPlayer and focused their live coverage on the football itself. However, this didn't stop some viewers suggesting the broadcaster had 'ruined' Buble's performance after Logan and her panelists talked over it.
Logan's Response to Criticism
She said this brought her plenty of criticism from fans of the 50-year-old. The broadcaster respected their right to their opinion and didn't reply, but things changed when Buble himself got involved.
"The next day, Michael Buble himself, on his personal account to 4.4 million people, puts up one of these posts and it's us in the studio talking over him," Logan said. "He just left it there, so I replied to him, sent him a DM and said 'really sorry, we did actually put your whole thing up on iPlayer... and I hope you didn't treat it as a mark of disrespect.'"
The Private Exchange
"Then he sent back a really long, considered message to me, telling me that it's a shame in this age that people just look for the humour in something first. It was a fair point and I came back and said mea culpa, I never broadcast for clicks and likes but maybe I did intentionally lead my pundits somewhere where I felt there would be a bit of humour.
"Then he came back and he said 'Look Gabby, I appreciate you coming back to me, the BBC have always been so supportive of me, please come to a gig - I'm going to be in the UK soon.' So I went from feeling like I was going to have the wrath of Bubles on my back for the rest of my life to feeling like we might be mates."
Canada's World Cup Performance
After Buble's introduction at BMO Field, Canada picked up their first ever World Cup point. Jovo Lukic headed Bosnia and Herzegovina into a first-half lead but substitute Cyle Larin came off the bench to equalise.
Next up for Jesse Marsch's side is a meeting with Qatar. The 2022 hosts also drew 1-1 in their opener, scoring a last-gasp equaliser against Switzerland in California.
