Les Murray, a veteran broadcaster whose voice became synonymous with football in Australia, has died aged 71 after a long period of illness, his employer said Monday.
Widely known as Mr Football, Murray was the face of soccer coverage at multicultural broadcaster SBS and played a prominent role in growing the sport’s popularity in a country where cricket and rugby are king. A member of FIFA’s ethics committee since 2006, Murray was born Laszlo Urge in Hungary in 1945, arriving in Australia as a refugee a decade later and changing his name. He began working for SBS in 1980, covering numerous World Cups and hosting various football-based programs.
