Leicester boss Geoff Parling was left fuming after clashing with TNT Sports presenter Craig Doyle ahead of the Tigers’ PREM Rugby match against Gloucester at Villa Park on Saturday.
The fixture at the home of Aston Villa was played in honour of Ed Slater, who played for both clubs during his career, who is suffering from motor neurone disease.
The Tigers would go on to boss the opening exchanges against the Cherry and Whites, racing into a 22-0 lead after just 15 minutes and ultimately a 36-17 victory to win the Ed Slater Cup.
However, the pre-match build-up on TNT Sports did not go without controversy…
Geoff Parling fumes
Liam McDevitt, a former footballer turned presenter, was making his debut on the channel and was challenged by Doyle to take a penalty kick as part of an initiation.
He lined up the kick towards the posts where the Leicester players were warming up and before attempting his kick, he said: “This could be a debut-defining moment.”
McDevitt’s effort faded far to the left of the uprights and after seeing the ball fly towards his players, Tigers boss Parling charged towards the duo.
“Would you sign him, Geoff?” Doyle said to the coach.
Who replied, “It’s not f***ing on, get off the pitch, it’s not f***ing on” as he shoved the TNT presenter who quickly apologised and obliged.
“OK. Geoff is not happy about that. Apologies for the language. Geoff was understandably not happy about that,” Doyle added as he returned to the sidelines, where Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll looked to be holding back his laughter.
A clip of the incident has quickly gone viral on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, with many taking Parling’s side whilst other think that his reaction was over the top.
This lads first day on TNT rugby…
Big Geoff Parling wasn’t impressed…
Valuable lesson learnt;
Don’t mess with the warm up… pic.twitter.com/89sFyaCBDa
— Enge Gray (@Enge21) March 28, 2026
“Miserable Geoff Parling should not be swearing anywhere near TV cameras. Unacceptable on every level. Well handled Craig,” one fan in the latter category wrote in reply.
A contrasting view read: “To be fair, that could’ve caused an injury to one of the players shouldn’t be kicking there due the warm up.”
One fan believed that both parties were at fault. “Should @rugbyontnt be doing that during the players warm up? Absolutely not, really stupid. Should Parling react like that? Probably a bit much, but definitely understand why he’s so p***ed off.”
Rugby writer Paul Williams was of the same opinion. “They’re both in the wrong there,” he wrote. “Dont kick a ball at players who aren’t looking. Dont be a d**k and push a TV presenter live on air.”
“I’m with Geoff Parling on this. He shouldn’t be pushing the presenter, but can’t be having TV broadcasters mucking about and booting balls into an area where a team are preparing for a game. As a football fan, imagine TNT attempting a crossbar challenge during a warm-up?” Another reply read.
While the Tigers boss was fuming before the match, he was far happier afterwards as his team’s victory not only saw them clinch the Slater Cup but cement their third-place ranking on the PREM Rugby table.