There was a notable lack of food for the hard-working BBC sport production staff in their shiny new studio at their Salford HQ during the World Cup this summer.
Sustenance would have been expected without question for both on-screen staff and those grafting behind the scenes, during the unsociable hours they were required to work as the tournament was broadcast from the other side of the Atlantic.
The decision not to feed behind-the-scenes staff, made by the BBC’s director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski, infuriated those left hungry. Their anger was compounded, say sources at the broadcaster, by the fact that Kay-Jelski could be seen unashamedly tucking into his own meals, brought to his desk by Deliveroo (and paid for by him, the corporation insists).
Factor into this that Kay-Jelski, 41, earns between £275,000 and £279,999 – a significant rise on the £245,000 for which his role was advertised two years ago – and it’s perhaps understandable why he has become ‘extremely despised’ by many at the corporation.
‘There are many working on BBC sport who simply do not like how Alex is behaving,’ says just one disgruntled insider. ‘It was pretty much impossible to get food at 1am in Salford during the World Cup.
‘There are suggestions that he has had some huge pay rises since he has been in the job and it has really irked a lot of people.’
The ill-feeling towards Kay-Jelski, who joined the corporation in June 2024, replacing the long-serving Barbara Slater, is now threatening to derail BBC Sport’s crown jewel, Match of the Day, back tonight for the start of the football season.
Sources tell me a ‘civil war’ has broken out on the programme as both its presenting and punditry teams and those working behind the cameras have been left ‘at the end of their tether’ over what they consider to be their boss’s ambition to take the BBC’s sports coverage in a different direction.
Gabby Logan, Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates were announced as presenters of the show in January
Alan Shearer has reportedly had a fall-out with the BBC’s director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski, which has led to his appearances on the show being cut back
‘The view inside Match of the Day is that Alex’s ego has grown out of control,’ says my insider. ‘His decisions and attitude have left a lot of people very angry and upset. He has never worked in television before and had turned up here wanting to make changes while earning an absolute fortune.
‘Some are convinced he wants to change BBC sport from a traditional, terrestrial model into something more YouTube-like. It has caused an internal mutiny.’
When approached by the Daily Mail, a BBC spokesman said: ‘We do not believe this to be true.’
Murmurs of unrest at Match of the Day appeared earlier this week and were quickly shut down by Kay-Jelski and the BBC’s PR team.
Despite their protestations, his staff have been coming forward in their droves to brief against Kay-Jelski in their bid to ‘save’ the BBC’s sports coverage.
Meanwhile, I can reveal that he and his longest serving pundit, Alan Shearer, have had a huge fall-out which has culminated in the former England striker cutting back on his Match of the Day appearances to just one a month – or even less.
Their row began at the end of April when Shearer was enraged Kay-Jelski didn’t tell him Match of the Day was nominated for the Sports Journalism Awards.
Shearer demanded to know why he wasn’t told the show he had worked on for 20 years had been shortlisted (he only found out after the ceremony that it had won programme of the year), nor was he invited.
He was further irritated that not one of Kay-Jelski’s management team called or texted to congratulate him.
Kay-Jelski, I’m told, hit back at Shearer, insisting very few people attended due to cost cutting.
Shearer was also spitting feathers that during their row, Kay-Jelski accused him of ‘whining’.
‘Alan was staggered that Alex behaved like this,’ says my Match of the Day insider. ‘It wasn’t just about him, but others too who he feels should have been involved in such an achievement.
‘The whining remark really got to Alan, he didn’t like it at all. He took the view, and still does, that he and other members of the team should have been told about the show’s success. Alan understands cost-cutting, but a WhatsApp would have cost nothing to send.
‘While Alan and Alex agreed to move on from the row, Alan is no fan of Alex’s. Now he doesn’t really want to be on the show as much as he did previously.’
Alan, say sources, isn’t alone. Fellow pundit Micah Richards has also requested to reduce his appearances to ‘the bare minimum’. One idea was that he did only FA Cup games, but it’s not yet known if that has been agreed to.
While the BBC confirmed Shearer and Richards would be cutting back their hours, a spokesman said it had nothing to do with any issues between them and Kay-Jelski.
They would not comment, however, on any fall-out with Shearer.
Micah Richards has requested to reduce his appearances to the ‘bare minimum’
Mark Chapman is reportedly not a fan of Kay-Jelski either
Regarding the Kay-Jelski situation, Gabby Logan ‘keeps her head down and tries to keep the peace’
Mark ‘Chappers’ Chapman is also reportedly not a fan of Kay-Jelski either, while the ever-professional Gabby Logan ‘keeps her head down and tries to keep the peace’.
The third host, Kelly Cates, is said to be much admired by Kay-Jelski and therefore there is no animosity on her part.
There are also fears that a couple of senior production staff are so unhappy they might walk away.
‘We are talking about highly experienced staff who have dedicated their lives to Match of the Day,’ says the source.
‘There is one adored employee who is on the cusp of quitting over all of this and if that happens it would be absolutely devastating.’
It was Kay-Jelski who put together the new-look Match of the Day last year after Gary Lineker left following controversy over an anti-Semitic social media post.
He was certainly a wild-card choice to replace television veteran Barbara Slater.
Educated at the fee-paying University College School in Hampstead, north London, he began his journalism career at the Daily Mail as a trainee sub-editor. He later moved to The Times where he created a stir with his vocal pro stance on trans athletes in women’s sport.
Six years later he arrived at the BBC where he has won a reputation among his colleagues as ‘woke’.
He was also behind the deeply unpopular decision to cull Football Focus, the legendary Saturday lunchtime show which has been running for 48 years.
Kay-Jelski’s more junior colleagues are also somewhat bewildered that, unlike so many behind-the-scenes staff who have to work full-time in Salford – and therefore live there – he commutes from London and is said to be there for around three days per week.
His popularity waned further earlier this year when he took the controversial decision to cover the initial rounds of the World Cup, held in the US, Canada and Mexico, from Salford.
This meant Gabby, Mark and Kelly were presenting against fake backdrops of the cities where matches were being played. Their rivals at ITV hired a stunning studio with views of Manhattan and Brooklyn bridge in the background. Lineker, meanwhile, also had a lavish loft apartment in Manhattan to host his podcast The Rest is Football, which was screened on Netflix.
Talking of Lineker, sources tell me he is being ‘very supportive’ of his former colleagues at Match of the Day, ‘meddling’ that will surely enrage Kay-Jelski, who oversaw his departure from the show. ‘Say what you like about Gary and his politics, but he does care about his old colleagues,’ says the insider. ‘Gary isn’t Alex’s biggest fan, as you can imagine.’
Neither are those involved in the women’s football world.
The Women’s Football show, which airs highlights of matches in the Women’s Super League, was culled after 13 years, leaving many inside the corporation furious.
Instead there are rumours that a new project will be created for iPlayer made by the former production company of Alex Scott, former Lioness and host of the now defunct Football Focus.
‘Alex [Kay-Jelski] seems to want to take it all in a direction of social media and YouTube,’ says my source. ‘It’s as if he has a vision away from television. And it is terrifying for the older viewers.’
In response to this point, a BBC spokesman said: ‘The strategy isn’t broadcast versus digital – it’s both. We’re protecting the quality and distinctiveness of our flagship programmes, with Match of the Day at the heart of that, while also making sure they reach audiences wherever and however they choose to consume sport.’
Another source tells me there is much chatter that a decision to cast the UK’s most watched sports YouTuber John Nellis on the forthcoming series of Strictly could be part of a long-term plan to lure him into the BBC sport family – along with his 20 million followers.
Then there was the matter of a legal complaint from Oasis after Kay-Jelski ordered a celebrity version of their hit Wonderwall, featuring the likes of Claudia Winkleman, which was played during the World Cup.
However, the rights were not secured, leading to the band’s lawyers demanding it was removed. ‘Alex dug his heels in and didn’t want to take it down,’ a source says. ‘It caused a lot of issues before finally it was removed.’
Instead of the usual excitement this weekend at the return of Match of the Day, there is, I’m told, dread among staff.
‘The beginning of the football season was always something so special,’ says a show source. ‘This year it all feels very miserable.’
And as for any food for behind-the-scenes staff… well, again, there won’t be any.
