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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Robbie Earle to lose role as England 2018 ambassador

Robbie Earle will no longer be used as an ambassador for England's 2018 World Cup bid after he was sacked by ITV. The ex-Jamaica and Wimbledon midfielder was dropped as a pundit after tournament tickets for his family and friends were passed to a third party. ITV said tickets for Monday's Denmark v Netherlands match in South Africa were distributed, breaching Fifa rules.

No-one from the 2018 bid team would comment but Earle, 45, is not named on its official list of ambassadors. He was among a 50-strong list of ambassadors announced by the England bid team in October 2009. But Earle, who scored Jamaica's first World Cup finals goal when he headed an equaliser in the 3-1 defeat to Croatia at France 98, will not be used in the future, BBC Sport understands.

It has been claimed a block of tickets were used by a Dutch company for an "ambush marketing effort". In a statement Earle said: "I didn't think I was doing anything wrong." He added: "I hope when people hear the full story they will see me in a different light. I have absolutely no connection with any marketing ambush agency and have not profited in any way from these tickets."

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