As insensitive intros go, it’s hard to beat this one from a story about the death of an amateur football referee.
Richard Harris’s story for The Press in York begins: “Footballers everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief following the death of Bernard Ryan.
“The scourge of late tackling, back-chatting and diving players, who lived most of his life in Dringhouses, York, died on February 5, aged 72.”
The story appeared on the paper’s website on Friday afternoon and attracted an avalanche of critical comments from readers. Not surprisingly, it has now been removed from the site.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
