Danny Murphy bizarrely paid tribute to his cat Bob while commentating on the World Cup round of 32 tie between the Ivory Coast and Norway. The co-commentator recalled, after a hydration break, that his pet had gone missing after jumping into the back of a Royal Mail van.
Oscar Bobb coming on as a second-half substitute prompted Murphy to recall his personal story. Norway led 1-0 when they brought on the Fulham player to replace former Crystal Palace striker Alexander Sorloth.
Murphy took the opportunity to talk about the feline during a lull in play. Main commentator Steve Bower was unimpressed.
Bobb almost immediately received the ball after coming on, leading Bower to say: “Here’s Bobb’s first involvement”. After a 10-second pause as Norway played the ball long to no avail, Murphy said: “I used to have a cat called Bob.”
Bower responded: “The game’s not that bad,” but his co-commentator continued. “Yeah, he jumped in the back of a Royal Mail van, and we lost him.”
“Sad really. Anyway,” Murphy concluded before laughing. After another pause in commentary, Bower moved them on, saying: “Anyway, 18 minutes to go, the Ivory Coast need a goal.”
Fortunately for them, a goal did follow barely a minute later from Ivory Coast star Amad Diallo to cancel out their opponents’ opener that came just before half-time through Antonio Nusa. Erling Haaland eventually put Norway back in front four minutes from time to ensure progression to the round of 16.
Murphy’s commentary received a mixed response on social media, with the Football Ramble dubbing it “truly iconic commentary”. However, others were less than impressed. One sarcastically said, “Riveting analysis from Danny Murphy here”, and another asked, “Sorry, how is Danny Murphy a real commentator?”
Plenty also drew comparisons to Alan Partridge. “Pure Partridge from Danny Murphy,” an account on X said. Someone else said: “Easily the best bit of commentary from Danny Murphy ever. Full Partridge.”
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Others even questioned the legitimacy of the story, saying: “I think it must be some version of an ‘off to live on a farm’ thing his parents told him? This needs to full true crime podcast treatment. Justice for Bob.”
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Murphy also came in for praise in some quarters. Another viewer said: “Incredible. The comedic timing of ‘sad really’ is just masterful. Danny Murphy, I wasn’t familiar with your game…”
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