Viewers of Good Morning Britain were left feeling frustrated during the latest live broadcast, after hosts made a series of comments about Scottish football fans and the King-approved World Cup bank holiday. Presenters Susanna Reid and Ed Balls returned to the ITV studio to bring audiences the day's most significant headlines from across the UK and beyond.
They were accompanied by regular panellists Gillian Keegan and the Mirror's Kevin Maguire. Later in the programme, the stars discussed the King's decision to grant a bank holiday in Scotland so football supporters could enjoy Scotland's inaugural World Cup fixture.
"A lot of people are outraged this morning over the bank holiday in Scotland for their first World Cup opening game. King Charles has approved a new, one-off bank holiday to allow fans to watch the late-night World Cup clash. So, they get next Monday off," Susanna began.
"Now, anyone watching might think, 'Is that because the game is late on a Sunday, or early on a Monday morning?' No!" reports the Mirror. Ed then said: "This morning, in our five o'clock meeting, Susanna said, 'I can't believe this, the game's on the Sunday morning, and they get bank holiday more than 24 hours later.' I said, 'What?' I couldn't believe it. It never occurred to me that that was going on."
The fixture in question is against Haiti at the Gilette Stadium in Boston. Kick-off is at 9pm local time, with supporters expected to stay awake until 2am UK time to watch the match. Susanna read out a series of split fan comments, before stating: "It's really outrageous. I mean, how long does it take Scots to get over the fact that they've played their first match?"
Kevin chimed in: "It's 2am. You can have a lie-in Sunday morning and sleep it off!" with Gillian observing: "It sets a terrible precedent." Ed then queried: "How hungover do they get?" Susanna remarked: "Is that the unspoken acknowledgement is that it is about alcohol?" with Kevin responding: "Yeah, I think it's going to be shown in thousands of pubs in Scotland at 2am. You can imagine the state of people."
However, viewers were not pleased with the stars' remarks, with many expressing their annoyance on X (formerly Twitter). "Very condescending attitude from all the presenters participating in that debate! Extremely anti Scottish. Not everyone is getting it and not everyone wants it. I don't even like football but thought your comments were uncalled for!" one individual wrote. Another added: "I thought the presenters also focused heavily on stereotypes, portraying Scots as heavy drinkers. Do better Good Morning Britain. Your presenters owe some of your audience an apology." A third stated: "The presenters talking about Scots was unacceptable. Very condescending attitude, extremely anti Scottish comments. Uncalled for." Someone else noted: "Not everyone in Scotland gets it either," while a fifth viewer fumed: "It's disappointing that your programme is again taking an anti Scottish view."
