Les Murray (broadcaster)
Encyclopedia
Les James Murray AM
(born László Ürge in Budapest
, Hungary
, 5 November 1945, IPA: laːsloː yrge) is an Australia
n sports journalist, football (soccer) broadcaster and analyst. He is the host of The World Game
on SBS
television and has been inducted into the FFA
's Football Hall of Fame.
As the country's most prominent TV presenter of Soccer, Murray has played a major role in the sport's growing popularity in Australia since the 1980s. Murray coined the phrase "the world game", which later became the title of SBS's football programme
.
, Hungary
, the son of Jozsef and Erzsebet Ürge. The family emigrated to Australia
in 1957 under the Hungarian Refugee Assisted Scheme. They resided at Wollongong, New South Wales
after some time at Bonegilla Migrant Camp
near Wodonga. He was educated at Berkeley High School (now Illawarra Sports High School
).
Final.
He began work as a journalist
in 1971. In between, he found time to perform in a rock music group, 'The Rubber Band' where he was lead singer. He moved to Network Ten
as a commentator in 1977, changing his name from László Ürge to Les Murray at that time.
Murray moved to SBS in 1980 as a subtitle
r in the Hungarian language
, but soon turned to covering association football. He has been the host for SBS coverage of association football including World Cup
s since 1986, as well as Australia's World Cup Qualifiers, most memorably in 1997, 2001 and 2005. He also anchors the SBS team covering friendlies and international tournaments in which junior and women's national teams are competing.
SBS sports programs hosted by him have included On the Ball
(1984–2000), Toyota World Sports (c. 1990 - 2006) and The World Game
(2001–present).
Murray was made a Member of the Order of Australia
for services to association football on 12 June 2006 as part of the Queen's Birthday honours list.
In 2006, Murray stepped down from his position as SBS's Sports Director to become an editorial supervisor for SBS, while his on-air role remained the same. His main motive for this decision was to concentrate on his range of presentation duties as the 'face' of SBS Sport.
He is a member of the FIFA
Ethics Committee.
In August 2011, Murray won the inaugural 'Blogger of the Year' award at the FFDU Australian Football Media awards, ultimately defeating fellow finalists Matthew Collard and Christian Layland.
In 2011 Murray published a book entitled "The World Game: The Story of How Football Went Global" in which Murray cited an undisclosed source in alleging that Lucas Neill
, the captain of the Socceroos, had instigated a mutiny just before the Germany vs. Australia game at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
. Murray alleged that Neill had asked his coach, Pim Verbeek, to leave the room, before describing Verbeek's game-plan as "bullshit" and erasing what the Dutchman had written on a whiteboard, telling the team to play like they normally do. The publication of this story was followed by responses from team members who had been eyewitnesses of the actual events, including Craig Moore
, Eugene Galeković
and Mile Jedinak
, clarifying that such an event, as portrayed in Murray's book, had never occurred. Neill himself protested that before the Germany game it was Mark Schwarzer
, and not Neill himself, who had given the team pep talk. A few days after the allegations hit the news, Les Murray retracted his allegations with a full apology, with an undertaking that future editions of his book would have the relevant portion deleted.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born László Ürge in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, 5 November 1945, IPA: laːsloː yrge) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n sports journalist, football (soccer) broadcaster and analyst. He is the host of The World Game
The World Game
The World Game is a Monday night television show on SBS in Australia dedicated to association football. It is currently hosted by David Basheer, former Socceroo Craig Foster, and Les Murray, the show analytically reviews and previews soccer and soccer issues from around the globe, albeit with an...
on SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
television and has been inducted into the FFA
Football Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
's Football Hall of Fame.
As the country's most prominent TV presenter of Soccer, Murray has played a major role in the sport's growing popularity in Australia since the 1980s. Murray coined the phrase "the world game", which later became the title of SBS's football programme
The World Game
The World Game is a Monday night television show on SBS in Australia dedicated to association football. It is currently hosted by David Basheer, former Socceroo Craig Foster, and Les Murray, the show analytically reviews and previews soccer and soccer issues from around the globe, albeit with an...
.
Early life
Murray was born as László Ürge in a small village on the outskirts of BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, the son of Jozsef and Erzsebet Ürge. The family emigrated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 1957 under the Hungarian Refugee Assisted Scheme. They resided at Wollongong, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
after some time at Bonegilla Migrant Camp
Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre
The Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre was a camp set up for receiving and training migrants to Australia during the post World War II immigration boom. The camp was set on near the small town of Bonegilla in north east Victoria, between the Hume Dam and the city of Wodonga...
near Wodonga. He was educated at Berkeley High School (now Illawarra Sports High School
Illawarra Sports High School
Illawarra Sports High School formerly Berkeley High School is a highschool located in Berkeley, New South Wales, Australia.-Alumni:* Currently enrolled at ISHS is Matilda's and Sydney FC winger Caitlin Foord.-External links:*...
).
Career history
His passion for association football, in which he had been interested from an early age, was sparked after watching a replay of the 1960 European CupUEFA 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...
Final.
He began work as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
in 1971. In between, he found time to perform in a rock music group, 'The Rubber Band' where he was lead singer. He moved to Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
as a commentator in 1977, changing his name from László Ürge to Les Murray at that time.
Murray moved to SBS in 1980 as a subtitle
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
r in the Hungarian language
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, but soon turned to covering association football. He has been the host for SBS coverage of association football including World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
s since 1986, as well as Australia's World Cup Qualifiers, most memorably in 1997, 2001 and 2005. He also anchors the SBS team covering friendlies and international tournaments in which junior and women's national teams are competing.
SBS sports programs hosted by him have included On the Ball
On The Ball (SBS television show)
On The Ball was an Australian Special Broadcasting Service television talk show show about soccer, which began around 1984 and ended in 2002....
(1984–2000), Toyota World Sports (c. 1990 - 2006) and The World Game
The World Game
The World Game is a Monday night television show on SBS in Australia dedicated to association football. It is currently hosted by David Basheer, former Socceroo Craig Foster, and Les Murray, the show analytically reviews and previews soccer and soccer issues from around the globe, albeit with an...
(2001–present).
Murray was made a Member of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
for services to association football on 12 June 2006 as part of the Queen's Birthday honours list.
In 2006, Murray stepped down from his position as SBS's Sports Director to become an editorial supervisor for SBS, while his on-air role remained the same. His main motive for this decision was to concentrate on his range of presentation duties as the 'face' of SBS Sport.
He is a member of the FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
Ethics Committee.
In August 2011, Murray won the inaugural 'Blogger of the Year' award at the FFDU Australian Football Media awards, ultimately defeating fellow finalists Matthew Collard and Christian Layland.
In 2011 Murray published a book entitled "The World Game: The Story of How Football Went Global" in which Murray cited an undisclosed source in alleging that Lucas Neill
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill is an Australian Soccer player who currently plays for UAE Pro-League club Al Jazira. He is a full back. Neill had spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2010 World Cup in South...
, the captain of the Socceroos, had instigated a mutiny just before the Germany vs. Australia game at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. Murray alleged that Neill had asked his coach, Pim Verbeek, to leave the room, before describing Verbeek's game-plan as "bullshit" and erasing what the Dutchman had written on a whiteboard, telling the team to play like they normally do. The publication of this story was followed by responses from team members who had been eyewitnesses of the actual events, including Craig Moore
Craig Moore
Craig Andrew Moore , is a retired Australian soccer defender.Moore is best known for his two spells with Scottish Premier Division / Scottish Premier League club Rangers...
, Eugene Galeković
Eugene Galekovic
Eugen-Josip "Eugene" Galeković is an Australian football player who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Adelaide United in the A-League and internationally for Australia.-Club career:...
and Mile Jedinak
Mile Jedinak
Michael John "Mile" Jedinak is an Australian professional football player. He is currently contracted to Crystal Palace of the English Championship...
, clarifying that such an event, as portrayed in Murray's book, had never occurred. Neill himself protested that before the Germany game it was Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer OAM is an Australian association football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough...
, and not Neill himself, who had given the team pep talk. A few days after the allegations hit the news, Les Murray retracted his allegations with a full apology, with an undertaking that future editions of his book would have the relevant portion deleted.