"When I first started on Sky TV, they were very conscious of the fact there were certain words I couldn't pronounce. I had to watch the BBC news."
Former referee Dermot Gallagher has revealed how he has disguised his Irish accent throughout his career.
The ex-Premier League official, who worked in the top flight up until 2007, has regularly appeared on Sky Sports since hanging up his whistle (do referees even hang up whistles when they retire?).
Despite being born in Ireland, very few would have detected even the slightest hint of a Irish accent from his appearances in the media...
https://twitter.com/SkySportsNews/status/1181182302967226368
... which explains why his interview with Off The Ball has been so widely shared in the last few hours.
Talking about his experiences as a referee, Gallagher can be heard speaking in a clear Irish accent, so much so that he is asked about it.
"It's because I'm speaking to Irish people," he says. "My best mate Alan Wiley gives me no end of stick because I have to crank it down a bit with Irish people.
"It was quite ironic when my dad was still alive, God bless him. One of my friends said to me "why do you talk Irish to your dad and English to us?" and I went, "I don't.""
He went on to explain how some struggle to understand him when he speaks in his Irish accent.
"When I first started on Sky TV, they were very conscious of the fact there were certain words I couldn't pronounce. I had to watch the BBC news.
"Words with 't, h' in I found very, very difficult so I had to practise. I'd be dreading them saying was it a Thursday match and they're trying to explain to me there was an aitch in the word Thursday."
https://twitter.com/offtheball/status/1359639684738121734
