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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Daniel Orme

BBC issue apology as live coverage cuts off during Wales vs Iran World Cup clash

The BBC were forced to apologise after their live coverage for Wales' key World Cup group game with Iran went offline for a few seconds.

Rob Page's men were facing a key clash on Friday morning having earned just a point against the USA last time out. Whilst Welsh fans will no doubt have been glued to the coverage no matter where they were watching it, they were left frustrated as the footage completely disappeared only minutes before the half-time interval.

The live broadcast halted and was accompanied by a high-pitched tone. An error screen adorned with the Qatar 2022 World Cup logo briefly appeared before the coverage was eventually restored.

Speaking after the incident, commentator Steve Wilson said: "We just lost picture for a couple of seconds there. Apologies for that, there was no harm done whilst you were away, not sure how long it was for but you didn't miss anything."

The first-half eventually ended level at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium with a cagey affair having played out. Iran thought they had dealt a hammer-blow to Wales' hopes of reaching the knockout rounds as Ali Gholizadeh tapped home from close range. VAR intervened though to rule him offside.

Their latest apology is not the first time that the BBC has been forced to fix technical errors over in Qatar during the current tournament. Match of the Day host Gary Lineker also staged an apology during England's World Cup opener against England earlier this week with supporters running into issues on their iPlayer service during the match against Iran.

An error message appeared on the screen during Wales' World Cup clash with Iran (BBC)

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Speaking at half-time, he said: "Just a quick pointer, apologies if you have had any BBC iPlayer issues during that first half. We are working to fix them."

Meanwhile, a BBC statement on Twitter read: "We're aware of an issue affecting some users on BBC iPlayer. We're trying to fix this ASAP. Coverage is also available on BBC One and the BBC Sport website and app."

Elsewhere, ITV have also run into problems in Qatar with their feed of Saudi Arabia's astounding victory against Argentina having cut out during the former's national anthem.

Welsh fans will hope that there are no more technical issues affecting any of the coverage throughout the remainder of the tournament. Page's troops round-off their group stage against England on Tuesday evening.

In the meantime, the Three Lions play their second group match against the USA on Friday night. A victory would secure their spot in the next round of the competition ahead of their clash with Wales.

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