Iain Stirling has been urged to “think before he speaks” after his on-air appeal for people to donate during Soccer Aid resulted in a backlash.
The annual star-studded football match returned at the weekend to raise money for Unicef with the likes of Sam Thompson, Danny Dyer and Tom Hiddleston among big names taking to the pitch.
This year’s face-off saw the England team earn their first Soccer Aid win since 2018 as they beat the World XI 6-3 at Stamford Bridge.
Love Island narrator Stirling, 36, returned with ITV’s Sam Matterface to comment on proceedings, but mid-way through the game made a comment that didn’t go down well with viewers at home.
Urging people to pick up their phones and donate to the charity, which provides humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide, Stirling was accused of making a “classless” quip.
“£40, what’s that? A takeaway for the whole family?” Stirling asked.
“Why not cook and give us £40 instead?” the dad-of-one, who is married to Laura Whitmore, added.
“Does Iain Stirling know how utterly classless this sounds?” fumed one person on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"As much as I like Iain Stirling, he's not going to guilt trip me into donating to #SoccerAid. £40 is a lot of money when you have a family to feed," chimed in a second person.
Another fumed: “Ian Stirling saying ‘what’s 40 quid?’ Ian mate there’s a cost of living crisis and people in the uk struggling to live and have to go to food banks to survive. 40 quid may be nothing to you, but it’s a lot for people who don’t have much.”
“That’s my weekly food shop for just me, I definitely don’t have £40 to give away,” remarked another, adding that they hoped Stirling “didn’t think before he spoke and realised after”.
“Iain Stirling has just said ‘what’s £40?’ Acting like it’s spare cash and people aren’t living in a financial crisis,” wrote another person on X.
During Soccer Aid – hosted by Dermot O’Leary and Alex Scott – viewers are given the option to donate either £40, £30, £20, or £10.
Since its inception in 2016, Soccer Aid has raised more than £60million for UNICEF.
This is not the first year that Edinburgh-born comedian Stirling has been involved.
He played for the World XI team in 2020, but last year said he had decided to hang up his football boots, and extend his help to the good cause in other areas.
“I think after playing once, commentary is where my skill set lies,” he explained to publication Manchester Evening News.
He said that he enjoyed “being part of the whole Soccer Aid atmosphere” and “knowing you’re part of something that’s doing such great work for such a great cause”.
The Standard has contacted a representative for Iain Stirling for comment.
