Gray and Keys over-step the line in NewsCorp's annus horribilis

POOR Sian Massey.

The 25-year-old assistant referee is seemingly the biggest loser out of the furore which has called time on the SkySports careers of Andy Gray and Richard Keys.

As if running the line was not a nerve-wracking enough experience in the first place, Gray and Keys' comments have made Massey's next appearance even more unsettling.

Undoubtedly, the performance of Massey in her next match will come under even greater scrutiny - and that is not a pressure which she deserves.

Perhaps, it is this reason why Massey's next appointment is as a referee in the rather lowly surroundings of a Conference North match between Corby Town and Eastwood Town.

It was certainly wise of the referees' association, the PMGO, to withdraw Massey from Tuesday's clash between Crewe Alexandra and Bradford City in League One.

For, at that stage, this sexism row was still in full flow after further details emerged of Gray and Keys' indiscretions.

Former Scotland international Gray and broadcasting veteran Keys really only have themselves to blame.

There was nothing actually wrong with them pointing out there would be a female official in the televised top-flight clash between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool match on Saturday.

After all, it is still an unusual enough occurrence to be worthy of comment.

The duo might have even got away with a rap on the knuckles if their comments about women's understanding of the offside rule had been made in jest.

However, their tone expressed a complete lack of faith in the competency of Massey herself - and for no other reason than that she was female.

As it happened, Massey proved her detractors wrong by keeping her flag down, allowing the onside Raul Meireles to cross to Fernando Torres who gave Liverpool the lead.

But it was clear that the recriminations of Gray and Keys' assessment would last far beyond the 90 minutes at Molineux.

Gray was sacked on Tuesday from his £1.7m-a-year job after footage emerged of a separate incident which showed the former Everton and Aston Villa striker asking co-presenter Charlotte Jackson to tuck his mic into his trousers.

At this stage, it was unclear why Keys had seemingly been reprieved but the former GMTV man would soon fall on his sword.

Following a bizarre apology on TalkSport, in which he said "dark forces" were at work, Keys was also caught out by a leak from the archives which was actually far worse than anything that had gone before.

This time, the tape showed Keys talking to pundit Jamie Redknapp about a former girlfriend.

First, Keys asked: "Would you smash 'it'?" before he then went on to surmise, "That's a stupid question - if you were anywhere near 'it', you definitely smashed 'it'.

"You could have gone round there any night and found [Jamie] Redknapp hanging out the back of 'it'."

This matter will not end here. Gray has called in law firm Schillings to deal with the severance of his contract at Sky while Keys' references to "dark forces" may be related to the phone tapping scandal in the News of the World.

Even before the sexism row began, Gray had fallen out with the top brass at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp after he announced his intention to sue the News of the World over allegations his phone was tapped.

Murdoch's News Corp owns a majority shareholding in Sky and News International which produces the Sun, the Times, the Sunday Times and the News of the World.

As stated previously on this blog, the News of the World claimed that any phone tapping was the work of a rogue reporter, the jailed Royal correspondent Clive Goodman.

But, last week, former NotW editor Andy Coulson resigned as Government Director of Communications after the paper's former private investigator Glenn Mulcaire destroyed the 'rogue reporter' defence by implicating former head of news Ian Edmondson.

Edmondson was sacked and the Metropolitan Police have re-opened their investigation after confirming they have received new information.

It looks as if 2011 could turn into an annus horribilis for Murdoch's News Corp - and, certainly, Gray and Keys have spoiled any sense of celebration around SkySports' 20th birthday.

But, while it is hard to feel any sympathy for Gray or Keys, or - on a separate issue - anyone found guilty of tapping the phones of Gray and others, my thoughts go out to Massey.

For her part, Massey will understandably want to move on from the whole furore and prove herself to be a top official.

And, given her strength of character to have already come so far in the male-dominated game of football, there is a good chance she will.