Steven Cohen (soccer)

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Steven Cohen
Born (1962-09-26) 26 September 1962 (age 58)
London, England
Career
Style Sports radio
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Previous show(s) World Soccer Daily, Fox Football Fone-In

Steven Cohen (born 26 September 1962 in London, England) is a British host formerly on the World Soccer Daily show on Sirius Satellite Radio, which is produced by Soccer Weekly, Inc., of which Cohen is the CEO. Cohen was also a strong supporter of FA Premier League club Chelsea FC, before renouncing his support of the club on his World Football Daily podcast, in the wake of the club throwing him "under the bus... with the Liverpool stuff." [1]

In 1982 Cohen moved to the United States, where he served in the United States Army for four years and later became a radio and TV talk show host. As World Soccer Daily grew he left a career in the music business in 2001. Cohen formerly co-hosted World Soccer Daily with Nick Geber. Geber was replaced by Howard Rogers, who had filled in previously, as Geber focused on his poker show. Howard Rogers was replaced by Kenny Hassan.

Controversy

Cohen has been criticised for stating, both as a host on Fox Soccer Channel and on his radio talk show, that Liverpool F.C. supporters "without tickets" were the "root cause" and "perpetrators" [2] of the Hillsborough Disaster. Liverpool Football Club issued a press statement saying "Mr Cohen has obviously never taken the time to read the Taylor Report which stated clearly that ticketless fans were not a contributory factor or responsible for the events of that day. To use the 20th anniversary of the disaster to repeat false claims about Liverpool fans (which Mr Cohen first broadcast and then apologised for in 2006) is even more unacceptable." [3] Chelsea F.C. also condemned his statements, issuing a press release which stated "We have distanced ourselves and will continue to distance ourselves from any comments that disrespect the memory of Hillsborough. We can see no benefit of giving him legitimacy by the club singling him out. Giving Mr. Cohen oxygen is the worst thing we could do. He is not a representative, nor ever has been a representative of the club." [4] Cohen has cited this statement as his reason for renouncing the club, and also stating "I hate (Liverpool) more than I love Chelsea" [1]

In September 2012, detailed investigation findings were released. The focus was on the disaster and accompanying documents. It was determined after review that it was police failure that was the main cause of the disaster, not fan behaviour. [5]

Following his comments on Liverpool fans on Fox Football Fone-In (FFF), fans in North America organised a boycott of the channel's sponsors, as well as sponsors of his Sirius show. [6] Despite the loss of several advertisers, Cohen stood by his comments [7] before eventually issuing an apology on 16 July 2009. [8] Despite this apology, Cohen was replaced by Eric Wynalda on July 29, 2009, as a host of FFF on FSC [9] and World Soccer Daily was dropped by Sirius. [10]

In World Soccer Daily's final podcast, Cohen cited that death threats against himself and his family, rather than the drop in advertising revenue, was the primary reason for this decision, and announced that evidence would be publicly revealed and had been presented to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (FBI) [11] As of 15 May 2017, this evidence has yet to be released, nor any charges made.

World Soccer Daily returned as World Football Daily, a video and audio podcast, in October 2009 on a non-sponsored, subscription basis.

Departure

On 18 March 2011, Steven Cohen announced his last appearance as host of WFD on 1 April 2011. Later that year, Cohen released a statement claiming that he had been offered a position with ESPN. [12] Liverpool fans again mobilised, sending emails to Chris LaPlaca, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications. On 1 October LaPlaca confirmed that "Contrary to earlier reports, Steven Cohen will not be contributing to ESPN." [13] [14] As of January 2021, he is the executive vice president for Cadence13 and no longer involved in soccer journalism. [15]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Steve Cohen Dump Chelsea". MetaCafe. March 27, 2010. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Rational opinion or unfounded lies?". Boycott Steven Cohen. Alastair Cairns. 2009. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Reds Condemn Hillsborough Radio Lies". Liverpool FC. May 21, 2009. Archived from the original on May 25, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2009.
  4. ↑ Edwards, Jim (July 24, 2009). "Chelsea F.C. Disowns Fox Host in Ad Boycott". CBS. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  5. ↑ "Police chief apologises for comment on fans' behaviour at Hillsborough" . Retrieved 2012-09-14.
  6. ↑ Edwards, Jim (July 31, 2009). "Inside the Ad Boycott of Fox Host Steven Cohen". Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  7. ↑ Edwards, Jim (June 24, 2009). "Fox's Steven Cohen on the Advertiser Boycott Over His Remarks on Soccer Stadium Deaths". Archived from the original on May 29, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  8. ↑ Harris, Christopher (May 18, 2009). "Steven Cohen Apologizes For Inaccurate Hillsborough Claims". World Soccer Talk. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Wynalda replaces Cohen on Fox talk show". Soccer America. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  10. ↑ Edwards, Jim (August 25, 2009). "Autopsy: Steven Cohen and the Ad Boycott That Ended His Career". CBS. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Steve Cohen Gets His Comeuppance". 200%. August 24, 2009. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Steven Cohen to ESPN". BigSoccer Forum. September 23, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  13. ↑ "LiverpoolFC Official Forums". Liverpool FC Forums. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  14. ↑ "The Anfield Wrap". Twitter. September 30, 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2021. From Chris LaPlaca, ESPN: "Thank you for your inquiry. Contrary to earlier reports, Steven Cohen will not be contributing to ESPN"
  15. ↑ "Steven M. Cohen - Executive Vice President Sales at Cadence13".
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