Police called after Match of the Day presenter Jacqui Oatley threatened online
BBC television presenter Jacqui Oatley, the first female commentator on Match of the Day, has been forced to call in police after being threatened by a man online who said he would ‘cut’ her alongside several other ‘unmentionable’ threats.
Police managed to trace the sender to a specific household but were unable to confirm which tenant had written the message when the occupiers said that a sixth form student's Twitter account had been hacked.
Speaking to the Guardian Oatley said she had been left with no choice but to escalate matters after deciding that simply ignoring such threats wouldn’t encourage the sender to change their ways.
Oayley said: “I decided that, instead of ignoring it, I’d write to his school and speak to someone in the refereeing department at the FA. I just wanted him to be made aware of his social media actions and how they could impact on his future career, rather than see him punished.”
Oatley’s work to champion female role models in football earned her an MBE in the 2016 New Year honours list.