Dear Mr Stone
Thanks for your e-mail regarding the BBC TWO programme 'Match of the Day 2' as broadcast on 12 April 2009.
I understand you weren't happy with this programme as you felt it was biased against Everton and indeed Marouane Fellaini.
Having reviewed the programme and the item in question, we felt that we were in no way biased against Everton. In fact the programme praised Everton for their attitude and their commitment at Villa Park. The studio commentators also stated that it was a fantastic match and expressed how much David Moyes had achieved without spending vast amounts of money. Phil Neville was also singled out as an unsung hero.
In covering football matches, we ensure that our commentary team provides balance across the programme. We do this by bringing in guest pundits or commentators who have had experience in the sport - on this occasion we had Steve Claridge and Mark Bright - both of whom have had long careers as professional football players.
We did include analysis of Marouane Fellaini using his elbows in both this and previous games. This was because our studio pundits, Steve and Mark - both of whom were full of praise for Everton in general, felt that his use of his elbow when challenging for headers was dangerous and that he was lucky not to have been sent off or to have seriously hurt his opponents. There was no bias involved and our pundits simply called the situation as it was. Steve and Mark have said similar things about two-footed challenges by players from a variety of clubs in the past.
Despite not being booked for any of the incidents we showed, Fellaini was still the first Premier League player to receive 12 yellow cards this season. Our pundits said this may be down to trying too hard to make an impression in his first season. The previous Sunday (5 April) Lee Dixon ran a videotape sequence of Fellaini's excellent footballing contribution to Everton's win over Wigan, therefore we can't agree with the allegation of bias against either the player or his club.
Nevertheless I appreciate that you may continue to feel differently and to this end I'd like to assure you that I've registered your complaint on our audience log. This is the internal report of audience feedback which we compile daily for the 'Match of the Day 2' team and also their senior management. It ensures that your points are circulated and considered across the BBC. The audience logs are seen as important documents that can help shape decisions about future programming.
Thanks again for taking the time to contact us.
Regards
Craig Thompson
BBC Complaints