Martin Tyler forced to issue apology for on-air comments about Ukraine 'keeper

Martin Tyler quickly apologised for making a comment towards Ukraine goalkeeper Heorhiy Bushchan during their World Cup qualifying defeat against Wales.

The Sky Sports commentator said the Ukraine stopper would have to 'soldier on' despite hurting his ankle when he tried to punch clear a cross. But Tyler quickly said sorry for his comments live on air as Wales ran out 1-0 winners at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Andriy Yarmolenko's own-goal proved to be the difference as Wales booked their place in the World Cup for the first time in 64 years. Gareth Bale 's free-kick was headed into his own net by the former West Ham United man just before half-time which set Rob Page's side on their way to the tournament in Qatar.

Ukraine, who beat Scotland 3-1 on Wednesday to get to this stage, created many opportunities to score but were unable to beat Wayne Hennessey, who was in inspired form on the night. He made 10 saves in total, including one excellent one from Roman Yaremchuck's header.

It was Wales who will join England, Iran and USA in Group B, though, with the tournament set to get underway on Monday, November 21. The Three Lions will play Page's men in the final game of the group stages.

But fans cut Tyler little slack after his poor choice of words when Bushchan fell to the ground after injuring his ankle. It is the type of slip many pundits and fans must have made without even noticing since Russia began invading Ukraine back in February. Although Tyler was sharp enough to realise, viewers on Twitter quickly spotted and slammed his mistake.

One fan posted: "Martin Tyler just said the Ukrainian goalkeeper will 'soldier on' and promptly apologised for saying that. He's genuinely just awful. #WALUKR."

Another said: "No way Martin Tyler just said the Ukrainian keeper will soldier on." One even added: "Wow. Retire."

Meanwhile, others defended Tyler for his comments and claimed it was just an innocent 'figure of speech'. These opinions included: "Strange. What he said is an idiomatic expression" and "Some people are offended by anything ffs".

One said: "It's a figure of speech. Nothing wrong with it. Leave the poor man alone."