Gerald Sinstadt is a British commentator and broadcaster, usually on football.

Broadcasting career

Born in Folkestone

Folkestone

Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...

, Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, Sinstadt attended the Harvey Grammar School, and began broadcasting on the British Forces Broadcasting Service

British Forces Broadcasting Service

The British Forces Broadcasting Service provides radio and television programmes for HM Forces, and their dependents, in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kosovo, the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Tristan da Cunha as well as a live satellite...

 in October 1949 and BBC Radio

BBC Radio

BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...

 in the 1950s and 1960s - where he was deputy to head of sport Angus Mackay. Whilst at BFBS he met a young 2nd Lieutenant doing his National Service by the name of Barry Davies

Barry Davies

Barry George Davies MBE is a British sports commentator. He has covered a wide range of sports in a long career, primarily for the BBC.-Broadcasting career:...

 who was keen to try his hand at sports broadcasting. Upon their return to the UK Sinstadt helped Davies to get a foothold in BBC Radio. Sinstadt moved into television in the mid-1960s with Anglia Television

Anglia Television

Anglia Television is the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region. Although Anglia Television takes its name from East Anglia, its transmission coverage extends beyond the generally accepted boundaries of that region. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional...

.

From 1969 to 1981 he was the main football commentator/presenter for Granada Television

Granada Television

Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....

 in North West England

North West England

North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...

, ironically replacing Barry Davies

Barry Davies

Barry George Davies MBE is a British sports commentator. He has covered a wide range of sports in a long career, primarily for the BBC.-Broadcasting career:...

 who had moved to the BBC. He presented the Friday evening Granada football magazine preview show, Kick Off and then over the weekend commentated on matches, usually involving Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

, Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

, Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 and Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 which from 1975 until he left would be broadcast in Kick Off Match, Granada's regional variation of ITV's The Big Match

The Big Match

The Big Match is a British Association football television programme, which screened on ITV regularly between 1968 and 1992 ....

. He would also cover numerous other clubs such as Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

, Bury

Bury F.C.

Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...

 and Preston North End

Preston North End F.C.

Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

.

He often commentated nationally on European matches involving north-west clubs, notably Manchester United's victory over Ajax Amsterdam

Ajax Amsterdam

Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands...

 in the 1976–77

1976-77 in English football

The 1976–77 season was the 97th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League revamped the tie-breaking criteria for teams level of points, replacing the traditional goal average tie-breaker with one based on goal difference to try to encourage more scoring...

 UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 and Liverpool's defeat of Saint Etienne

AS Saint-Étienne

Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...

 in the same season's European Cup

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

. Sinstadt covered four World Cups for ITV, from 1970 in Mexico to 1982 in Spain, with the main matches he covered including the live 1978 third place play-off between Brazil

Brazil national football team

The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...

 and Italy

Italy national football team

The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...

, and the 1982 semi-final between France and West Germany He was also part of the ITV team at the European Championships in Italy in 1980. Sinstadt was ITV's number three commentator behind Brian Moore

Brian Moore

Brian Moore may refer to:*Brian Moore *Brian Moore *Brian Moore , Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, England...

 and Hugh Johns

Hugh Johns

Hugh Richard Lewis Johns was best known as a football commentator for ITV. During his career, he covered a thousand matches including four FIFA World Cup finals. - Early life and career :...

, covering the UEFA Cup finals in 1974 and 1976 and the Football League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 final replay between Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

 and Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

 in 1978. During his ITV years he commentated on other sports - including all ball games at the 1972 Munich Olympics, snooker, golf and cricket.

Sinstadt left Granada after the 1980-81 season

1980-81 in English football

The 1980–81 season was the 101st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League introduced a three points for a win system in place of the two points for a win system which had operated since the league's formation in 1889...

, his place being taken by Martin Tyler

Martin Tyler

Martin Tyler is an English football commentator who was voted as the FA Premier League Commentator of The Decade...

. As well as producing opera programmes, from the beginning of 1982 until the end of the 1982–83 season

1982-83 in English football

The 1982–83 season was the 103rd season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Bob Paisley's last season as Liverpool manager ended on a high as they topped the First Division with a comfortable lead. Bob Paisley retired as Liverpool manager with a record 21 prizes in nine years. His...

 Sinstadt commentated for TVS

Television South

Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK...

. The region had First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 clubs Southampton

Southampton F.C.

Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 and Brighton and Hove Albion.
Subsequently, he commentated on golf for Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

. He rejoined the BBC from the mid-1980s, working as a reporter and commentator for Football Focus

Football Focus

Football Focus is a BBC television show, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes, covering football, presented from the 2009/2010 season by Dan Walker...

 and Match of the Day

Match of the Day

Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...

 and covering other sports, such as rowing where he commentated on some of the Steve Redgrave

Steve Redgrave

Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave CBE is an English rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships gold medals...

 / Matthew Pinsent

Matthew Pinsent

Sir Matthew Clive Pinsent CBE is an English rower and broadcaster. During his rowing career, he won 10 world championship gold medals and four consecutive Olympic gold medals, of which three were with Steve Redgrave...

 Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 successes, and covering the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race in the early 1990s, succeeding Harry Carpenter

Harry Carpenter

Harry Leonard Carpenter OBE was a British BBC sports commentator broadcasting from the early 1950s until his retirement in 1994. His speciality was boxing...

 but soon replaced by Barry Davies

Barry Davies

Barry George Davies MBE is a British sports commentator. He has covered a wide range of sports in a long career, primarily for the BBC.-Broadcasting career:...

. While at the BBC, he presented episodes of a BBC2 documentary series 'Football Fussball Voetbal', a history of European football leading up to Euro 96.

He appeared in the 1996 Jimmy McGovern television drama about the Hillsborough tragedy, having been a BBC television reporter at the stadium whilst the disaster unfolded seven years earlier.

Sinstadt is now retired, but well into the 2000s he continued to report from football grounds for BBC Sport's Score programme, broadcast on Saturday afternoons on BBC One

BBC One

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

 and the BBC's interactive digital service. On 22 January 2011 he voiced a short obituary to former Bolton Wanderers and England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 forward Nat Lofthouse

Nat Lofthouse

Nathaniel "Nat" Lofthouse, OBE was an English professional footballer who played for Bolton Wanderers for his whole career...

at the end of the BBC's Football Focus programme.

Private life

In 1994, Sinstadt was charged with gross indecency as the result of being caught by North London police who witnessed him performing an alleged sex act in the Fantasy II cinema in Islington. The criminal charges were later dropped.

Sinstadt lives in Stoke-on-Trent and is still actively involved in football, as a Staffordshire member of the FA Council and as vice-chairman of the North Staffordshire Youth League.