“Disgusting” - Ian Poulter slammed BBC SPOTY over Matt Fitzpatrick snub

US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick’s snub at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year contest sparked a major controversy. Several personalities from the golf world jumped in to slam the BBC and criticize their decision to snub Fitzpatrick.

Ian Poulter was one of them.

The English LIV golfer called the awards a "joke" and said Fitzpatrick was completely overlooked. Dubbing it “disgusting,” Poulter said he was “glad” his compatriot didn’t attend the event in person.

Retweeting a tweet from the Telegraph’s Golf Correspondent James Corrigan, Poulter wrote:

“BBC Spoty is a joke. Disgusting how @MattFitz94 is completely overlooked. Glad he didn’t waste his time flying over. Team GB won in 2012, & in the hand book Team GB couldn’t win as a Team. That was overturned by the executive panel.

“BBC told us please fly over for it. Custard Pie.”

Poulter also shed light on how the BBC deemed Team Europe ineligible for the Team of the Year award despite its remarkable Miracle Of Medinah Ryder Cup win a decade ago.

However, the 46-year-old didn’t stop there. He went on to respond directly under BBC Sport's tweet as well. Retweeting the nominees' list, the LIV golfer called the awards a “farce.”

He wrote:

“Sorry but complete disregard for @MattFitz94 makes this event a continued farce and joke. I experienced first-hand how much of a joke this was 10 years ago. Promised myself then I’d never waste time attending or watching again.”

It is pertinent to note that golf’s snub at the awards has been a topic of discussion for a while. Interestingly, Poulter was part of Team Europe that was snubbed from the Team of the Year award, despite their Ryder Cup win over the dominant US team.

Only Rory McIlroy, a member of the team, appeared on the list of nominees for an award that year. However, he finished 10th on the list.

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Did Matt Fitzpatrick reject BBC’s invite ahead of SPOTY snub?

Matt Fitzpatrick had a brilliant 2022.

The golfer clinched the US Open title over Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris this year. His win was celebrated across the country as it is a rare achievement. Apart from this, the golfer also finished ninth on the OWGR leaderboard, higher than any other English player by a wide margin.

These accomplishments made him a hot property in the golf world, making the SPOTY award snub controversial.

Interestingly, it was recently revealed that Fitzpatrick politely declined an invite to the ceremony even before the snub. The golfer was clearly on his stand as golfers rarely win the award and he chose against attending it.

He didn't get nominated and thus, his decision to not fly stood right. However, his snub has once again sparked a conversation about how the awards have looked down on the sport of golf. It is pertinent to note that only two golfers, Sir Nick Faldo in 1989 and Dai Rees in 1957, have won the award in its entire history.