Sky Sports forced to apologise after Terry Venables appears to make homophobic joke about holding Brian Clough's hand: 'We looked like a pair of woofters'

Sky Sports presenter Ben Shephard was forced to apologise live on air yesterday after the former England manager Terry Venables appeared to make a homophobic joke on Goals on Sunday, saying that he and Brian Clough looked like a "pair of woofters".

Venables was a guest on the show and spoke about the 1991 FA Cup final at Wembley, when his Tottenham Hotspur side took on Clough's Nottingham Forest, and told a story about how the opposing manager held his hand as the teams walked onto the pitch.

The 71-year-old said about the hand holding: "As I come out he grips my right hand with his left hand and I'm clamped, I'm clamped."

Venables then appeared to say that the two looked like a "pair of woofers", which prompted Shephard, who was co-hosting with Chris Kamara, to apologise for any offence caused.

In the final in 1991, Venables' Spurs ran out 2-1 winners thanks to Des Walkers' 94th-minute own goal.

Venables was England manager from 1994 to 1996, and guided the team to the semi-final at Euro '96, when they went out on penalties to Germany.