BBC forced into Scotland vs Greece apologies as Nations League clash mired by TV errors and glitches

Anger and disappointment enveloped Hampden Park as Scotland left the pitch after Greece inflicted their heaviest home defeat in over five years.

There were high hopes ahead of the second leg of the Nations League play-off after a first-half penalty from Napoli star Scott McTominay helped Steve Clarke’s side claim a narrow win in Greece on Thursday night. However, any thoughts of preserving their League A status were quickly washed away as the visitors took command at Hampden Park as Giannis Konstantelias and Konstantinos Karetsas gave their side a two-goal lead at half-time. There was no let-up after the interval as Club Brugge forward Christos Tzolis added a third goal to condemn Scotland to relegation from the Nations League’s top tier.

The Scotland players look on crestfallen after the loss at Hampden. | SNS Group

That disappointment stretched to viewers of BBC Scotland’s live coverage of the game after their broadcast was hampered with sound issues. There was obvious delight when it was confirmed the tie would be shown on free-to-air channels - but Scotland fans were left frustrated by a number of issues.

Technical difficulties meant commentators could not be heard on a number of occasions during the game and that left presenter Steven Thompson to apologise before Jonathan Sutherland took on commentary duties alongside pundit Steven Naismith, with Liam McLeod and former Scotland star James McFadden still unable to be heard. The blip was eventually sorted early in the game but the commentary was out-of-sync with the footage of the game, leaving some supporters to brandish the coverage as ‘shambolic’.

The coverage also included a post-match interview with Scotland midfielder Ryan Christie, who apologised to the Tartan Army after they were left disappointed by an underwhelming performance from their side. The Celtic star started Sunday’s second leg but was replaced by Middlesbrough forward Tommy Conway with just over quarter of an hour remaining as Clarke belatedly tried to get his side on the front foot in a bid stem the tide. However, Christie could only watch on as the Greeks saw out the tie with relative ease and hand Scotland a defeat the midfielder described as ‘a bump in the road’.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Christie said: "We're frustrated, especially with how well the first leg went. Coming in tonight we saw it going a lot differently. We probably didn't create enough and they were pretty cut-throat going forward themselves. Overall a very frustrating night at Hampden, but we've got to pick ourselves up for the friendlies in the summer. We're not naive enough to know we're going to have it all our way.

“There's been plenty bumps in the road and this is probably going to be one of them. It's about how we react from this and bounce back to hopefully get ourselves in a really good place going into the World Cup qualifiers. Everyone will go back to their clubs and try to finish the season as strong as possible. You try and remember this feeling, how much you feel you've let the fans down at Hampden tonight, so that when the qualifiers come you don't do it again."

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