It has been revealed that legendary commentator John Motson spent his final night watching football in his local pub.
On Thursday, Motson’s family announced the 77-year-old’s death.
In a statement, they said: “It is with great sadness we announce that John Motson OBE died peacefully in his sleep today (Thursday 23 February).”
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Motson, widely known as ‘Motty’ was famed for his expert knowledge of the game and for dawning the sheepskin coat that he made iconic.
He spent half a century working with the BBC before retiring in 2018.
He was a regular at The George, which is Motson's local pub in the village of Little Brickhill in Buckinghamshire.
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The pub’s landlords Simon and Louise Babikian have revealed that Motson visited the night before his death.
Louise said to the BBC: “Wednesday evening, the night before he passed, he came into the pub to watch his football match and sat with his mates having a beer and talking us through the game, as he would most evenings.
“He seemed to really enjoy himself.”
She added: “Once he spoke, he had such an iconic voice and was so pleased to meet people that recognised what he's done for the world of broadcasting.”
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Simon said Motson was ‘a true gentleman’ and ‘a true friend’ to many within the village.
He said: “My memory will be him saying goodnight, how he'd see us at the weekend and he might come in the day after for the [Manchester] United game [against Barcelona on Thursday night]. He just loved every team and everybody.”
After years of working with Motson on BBC’s iconic Match of the Day, presenter Gary Lineker expressed his sadness over the commentator’s death.
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He tweeted: “Deeply saddened to hear that John Motson has died.
“A quite brilliant commentator and the voice of football in this country for generations. He'll be very much missed. RIP Motty.”
Topics: Football
Marcus Chan