Arsenal legend and BBC pundit Ian Wright has had to deny allegations of being arrested after scammers used AI to create false images of him.
Was Ian Wright arrested?
The Match of the Day presenter has become a well-loved TV personality within the world of football since retiring – having been an adored player, too.
After all, he netted a whopping 185 goals in 288 appearances for the Gunners which was a club record until it was eventually beaten by Thierry Henry.
He also spent time in his career with other former clubs such as Crystal Palace, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Burnley.
In recent times, he’s cemented his status as an all-round lovely guy by showing his class as a strong and vocal advocate for women’s football, and recently slammed the broadcasting issues ahead of the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand – with Fifa threatening a blackout because of low offers for the broadcast rights from the biggest European footballing countries.
With all that in mind, it must have come as a shock to some when images emerged online of him supposedly being arrested. Some friends of Wright’s were so stunned, he has since revealed people were calling him about it.
Well, in a new video shared on his Twitter account, he’s now clarified that it’s all a strange scam where people “superimposed” him into an odd situation.
Wright explained: “Listen, I’m getting so many calls. People think I’ve been arrested. They’ve superimposed me with handcuffs. Look at me [laughs] this is a scam! People are scamming you.
“I ain’t been arrested. I’ve not done anything to get arrested. Foolishness! Watch these people scamming you!”
He also shared some of the fake photos.
It’s certainly a bizarre story and perhaps a little worrying that some of his friends did seem to be convinced by AI that these images were actually real.
However, it’s good to see that Wright has responded in typical style, laughing it all off with a smile on his face.
The presenter recently made history with Shaun Wright-Phillips, becoming the first father and son punditry team to appear on Match of the Day.
So don’t worry, we’re far more likely to see him appear on TV in the future than in a prison cell.
