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Tributes for football broadcasting great Les Murray who has died at the age of 71

WITH the news that Les Murray has died at the age of 71, tributes from the football and wider sporting community are pouring in.

2 min read
July 31, 2017 - 8:50PM
SBS-TV presenter Les Murray at station's Artarmon studios in Sydney ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals tournament in South Africa.
SBS-TV presenter Les Murray at station's Artarmon studios in Sydney ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals tournament in South Africa.

WITH the news that Les Murray has died at the age of 71, tributes from the football and wider sporting community are pouring in.

Murray, known universally as Mr Football, died on Monday morning after a long illness.

The SBS broadcaster was, along with his former on-air partner, Johnny Warren, the game of football’s biggest advocate in Australia.

His colleague Craig Foster, who worked alongside him at SBS, said the game had a lost a “football colossus” in a series of tweets paying tribute to Murray.

“The world lost a football colossus this morning, Les Murray AM. He fought well into extra time but whistle has blown. His legacy is lasting,” Foster tweeted.

“Les left family that loved him, colleagues adored him, futbol community that revered him. Well played old friend. Extraordinary performance.”

ANGE’S TRIBUTE TO ‘LONE VOICE’

Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou said for Murray to be such a passionate advocate of football took “an enormous amount of courage” given the state and popularity of the sport in Australia for much of his media career.

“It’s easy to forget in the current context of the game just where it was when Les and Johnny Warren decided, regardless of what the common course of thinking at the time, that they were going to stand up for the game and become passionate advocates for it when it was a lot easier not to,” Postecoglou said.

“Back then, to stand up and say you liked the game and were passionate about it was a big thing. And, more importantly, they never backed down when it would have been easier to.

“It’s pretty hard to put it into context when you see where the game has got to today, but that’s what Les did.

“I’m sure there are a lot of people saying today that they wouldn’t be working in football or be passionate about football or have had memories over the years of football if it wasn’t for him on Sundays being in our living rooms.

“To be almost a lone voice takes an enormous amount of courage and shows the enormous amout of passion he had for the game.”

For Postecoglou, Murray’s coverage of the sport was particularly pertinent.

“When I first broke through as an 18-year-old at South Melbourne in the old NSL, having a bloke who could pronounce Postecoglou was fantastic for me,” he said.

“Les was pretty meticulous about the way we pronounce people’s surnames.

“The journey onwards has been very much, for me anyway, trying to continue to grow the game and be prepared to fight against the grain, pretty much on the back of the way he and Johnny spoke about the game when I was growing up.”

— Matt Windley

SOCIAL TRIBUTES

Others to pay tribute include Fox Sports commentator and Australian football great, Mark Bosnich and federal opposition leader, Bill Shorten.

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/tributes-for-football-broadcasting-great-les-murray-who-has-died-at-the-age-of-71/news-story/5317407034c70d75278aac875b92f5ba