IN A WORLD full of anodyne, dull and lifeless ex-footballers-turned-TV pundits, Rodney Marsh was a breath of fresh air.

Funny, irreverent and outspoken, his various turns on Sky Sports as a football commentator have always been entertaining and engaging.

Last week, Rodney told an ill-advised and off-colour joke about David Beckham.

It's a joke - its gist being that he mistook Toon Army for Tsunami - that's been doing the rounds on the internet and via phone texts for a couple of weeks, but he made the mistake of repeating it on-air.

Sky Sports subsequently sacked him.

I really do believe that the decision shows what a humourless, edgy little country we are becoming.

Yes, the disaster on December 26 was a catastrophe that's touched us all and, yes, it was a mistake to repeat it on air.

But Rodney Marsh didn't say it at a convention of townswomens' guilds or church ministers.

He was a guest on a late-night football phone-in on Sky Sports that attracts an audience of people who care about watching their favourite football team.

Therefore, his predominantly male audience would be party to - and possibly joining in with - very off-colour chants about the sexuality of various Premiership footballers, the size of the centre forward's waist and the dubious parentage of the referee.

In some clubs' cases, they will have heard revolting songs about the Munich plane crash which devastated Manchester United in the late 50s and the Hillsborough disaster that claimed the lives of almost 100 Liverpool supporters.

Poor taste is one thing, but making a scapegoat of a great ex-footballer and a very decent commentator is an over-reaction as startling as one of Ruud van Nistelrooy's dives.

First published: January 31