Gary Lineker had to summon every ounce of professionalism as the BBC’s live coverage of the FA Cup clash between Wolves and Liverpool was disrupted by ... sex noises.
The BBC presenter was previewing the third-round replay in a studio at Molineux alongside pundits Paul Ince and Danny Murphy when awkward and audible pornographic wails broke out in the background.
Lineker looked momentarily startled by what was happening, and struggled to keep a straight face as he cut to colleague and fellow former England striker Alan Shearer in the commentary gantry.
But Lineker pressed on, laughing off the incident as the noise continued to blare out. He said to Shearer: “Somebody’s sending something on someone’s phone, I think. I don’t know whether you heard it at home.”
The stunt did not go unnoticed on social media.
Lineker later revealed the loud moaning noises were caused by a hidden mobile phone “taped to the back of the set”.
Once the match had begun, Lineker revealed the cause, tweeting a picture of a mobile phone and three laughing emojis alongside the words: “Well, we found this taped to the back of the set.
“As sabotage goes it was quite amusing.”
Liverpool scored the only goal of the first half, and during the half-time analysis, Lineker said to Ince and Murphy: “Harvey Elliott’s goal was a screamer… which was not the only one we’ve had tonight.”