Martin Tyler addresses Man Utd bias accusations and lets slip who he really supports

Martin Tyler has responded to accusations that he holds a bias towards Manchester United. The iconic commentator was the voice of the Premier League for over 30 years.

During Tyler's 33-year tenure with Sky Sports he commentated on years of Red Devils dominance and many accuse him of having some favouritism towards the club. Specifically, when ex-United star Anthony Martial bagged a goal against bitter rivals Liverpool in 2015, fans took aim at Tyler.

The 80-year-old left Sky in 2023 after his contract wound down, but he has now addressed these claims that he is a United fan while revealing who he truly supports.

Speaking on In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet, Tyler recalled an incident involving ex-England striker Rickie Lambert as he opened up about accusations of favouritism.

"Ricky Lambert, first game of the 2012/13 season, Southampton at home against Man City," began Tyler. "Ricky comes on as a substitute and he's come from the fourth tier and non-league and everything.

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"And I've been to, as commentators do their prep, I've been down to see Southampton and I had met Ricky a few times before. I said, 'Oh, maybe I'll get to be the commentator for your first Premier League goal.'

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"He said, 'I'm only sub.' So that was the backstory. He was the sub and he comes on and he scores. There was an accusation of a bit of personal bias, but it was for somebody who'd made a long journey to that moment!

"[Being accused of bias] happens to all commentators, especially with social media. People have their opinions. I did the League Cup final when Manchester United played Southampton.

"And the Daily Telegraph, I think it was, published two tweets the next day, one saying I was the most biased commentator in favour of Man Utd, and the other one saying I was most biased in favour of Southampton.

"So I did the whole profession a favour really because, yeah, you accept that, but I'm a Woking fan. I've never been anything else but a Woking fan. And so I know in my own skin that there's not a bias."

Tyler, who admits he is a supporter of National League side Woking FC, also opened up about being accused of bias by Manchester City fans, notably when Jamie Mackie scored against them during their infamous 3-2 title-winning victory against QPR in 2012.

"Jamie Mackie's goal in 2012. I'm accused by Manchester City fans of being too excited," he added. "QPR go two and up, they're trying to stay in the league and I gave it 'too much.' It was only one person to be fair.

"It was quite a surprise. I was at a reunion for the match where they were playing it and it hadn't come up yet, so the game was going through and Jamie Mackie scores on the video. They said, 'There you go, you're shouting!'

"But everybody's entitled to their opinion. We're all football fans and we've all got one vote in that respect and I don't have any problem with people thinking what they think.

"As long as you know in yourself that you're not doing something. Yeah, that is a bit of a confession about Ricky, but it was very personal and they even lost the game."

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