Scotland are preparing to kick off their first World Cup finals campaign in nearly 30 years, but a studio prank nearly stole all the headlines on Saturday.
TalkSPORT radio host Jason Cundy turned up to the station’s World Cup gameday programme wearing a Haiti shirt, sparking immediate backlash from fellow pundits.
The ex-Chelsea defender claimed he pulled the Haiti strip from a bag containing shirts representing all 48 nations competing at the tournament in North America.
Cundy insisted the selection was entirely random, maintaining his innocence despite the obvious scepticism from everyone else in the studio.
Scotland face Haiti tonight in Group C, their opening fixture in a campaign that also includes clashes against Morocco and Brazil.
Former Scotland international Charlie Adam, capped 26 times by his country, was not impressed by the stunt and made his feelings clear on air.
Adam said: “I thought this was a good radio station. To be fair, I think this is the most we have ever spoke about Scotland on this radio show and for him to produce that, nah, I’m finished with him.”
Former Liverpool and England winger Jermaine Pennant went even further, directly calling out Cundy and labelling him a disgrace to his face.
Pennant told Cundy: “You’re a disgrace. You’ve gone after Arsenal wearing a PSG shirt, now our neighbours, cousins and the uncle we don’t like, now you are putting on a Haiti shirt. I don’t believe a word you are saying.”
Cundy had previously drawn criticism last month for wearing a Paris Saint-Germain shirt on air after the Ligue 1 club defeated Arsenal in the Champions League final.
He doubled down the following day on that occasion and appears to be following the same playbook ahead of one of the most significant nights in Scottish football history.
Cundy continued to defend himself, saying: “This probably sums up my luck. Of all the shirts I could have pulled out, Argentina, Uruguay, Czech Republic, all of them. It’s desperately unlucky. It’s not my fault and you should have some sympathy with me.”
Few in the studio appeared sympathetic, with the reaction from both Adam and Pennant reflecting how seriously Scottish fans are taking tonight’s historic fixture.
Scotland’s World Cup return has been nearly three decades in the making, and supporters will be hoping the real action on the pitch drowns out the noise from the studio.
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