THE BBC has rejected claims that its coverage of the Euro 2020 tournament has been "biased in favour of England".
The broadcaster faced criticism from a number of viewers, not least from Alba MP Kenny MacAskill who called for powers over the BBC to be devolved so Scots don't have to put up with "commentators’ endless mentioning of the glories of ’66 and Gazza’s goal".
The East Lothian MP, who moved from the SNP to Alba ahead of May's Holyrood election, added: "The need to see the world through a Scottish lens is clear. It’s time the Scottish Government spoke out rather than standing on the sidelines.”
READ MORE: Scottish MP demands devolution of BBC due to pro-English bias during Euros
In a statement, the corporation said they "don’t agree" that commentators, pundits and presenters covering the tournament have shown bias towards "any one team".
The BBC statement read: "We’ve received some complaints about our Euro 2020 coverage, from people who think our commentators or presenters are biased in favour of England.
"This year, our Euro team features a line-up of England, Scotland, and Wales experts, including Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand, Micah Richards, Alex Scott, Jermaine Jenas, Mark Hughes, Ashley Williams, Robbie Savage, James McFadden and Shelley Kerr.
"Dedicated team coverage will also be provided by home nations experts; Kelly Somers for England, Eilidh Barbour for Scotland, and Carl Roberts for Wales. We also feature international representation through Jurgen Klinsmann, Cesc Fabregas, Petr Cech and Eric Abidal.
"We are proud of the expertise and experience that our team are bringing to football fans across the UK, and don’t agree that our line-up shows any bias towards any one team."
READ MORE: Who are the Scottish voices covering Euro 2020 on BBC and ITV?
They added: "Our football coverage is watched by a very diverse audience, each with differing views and opinions, and for that reason we aim to reflect those across our programmes.
"We believe we’ve put together a very strong line-up of presenters, pundits, and commentators including ex-professional players/managers and football experts.
"We appreciate that not everyone will enjoy every one of our presenters, pundits, or commentators, but we are proud of the range of talent and expertise our Euros 2020 team bring to our coverage."
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