BOLTON Wanderers were embroiled in a dispute with the BBC last night after Sam Allardyce withdrew from a Radio 5 Live programme in protest at comments made by Alan Green, the station’s controversial commentator, after the club’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Monday.

The Bolton manager has decided to stop talking to the broadcaster and club officials are attempting to clarify with the FA Premier League whether they would be within their rights to extend that embargo to the players. A female reporter from the radio station has already felt the force of Allardyce’s displeasure, being asked to leave a press conference yesterday.

For a man who makes his living out of commentating on football, Green has managed to upset and fall out with a remarkable number of the game’s leading personalities over the years. Allardyce has been added to a list that already includes Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Keane, David Moyes and Joe Royle.

While the scars of his battles with Ferguson, in particular, are worn as a badge of honour by Green, Allardyce’s reaction to his outburst after the game at the Reebok Stadium on Monday, when he said that Bolton played “ugly football” and that he would not pay to watch them himself, is only likely to cement his position in the twilight zone of football’s post-match phone-ins. That was something readily accepted by Allardyce as he explained the reasons behind his decision to withdraw his co-operation.

Allardyce said: “I thought Alan Green was a Liverpool fan, but the comments he made don’t deserve me talking about them. I wouldn’t want to try to encourage the BBC to keep him employed really. If I make comments, it just fuels the situation and keeps the bubble growing.” Green clearly will not be welcome at the ground in the near future and neither will Radio 5 Live’s reporters, one of whom was sent packing without so much as a “no comment” on her audio equipment yesterday.

Allardyce later left the station’s schedules in disarray by pulling out of a forum with Keith Hackett, the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, scheduled for last night..

The postbag of yesterday’s Bolton Evening News only highlighted the antipathy within the town towards Green, who was confronted in the press box by Bolton fans angry at his derogatory comments about their team at half-time on Monday. David Wilson, of Leigh, wrote that Green should “provide an objective and unbiased service to the listener rather than warped opinions”, while Chris Aiken, of Westhoughton, added: “He [Green] should try listening to his own comments, then he might understand the true meaning of the word ‘ugly’.”

Allardyce said: “The public outcry from our supporters over this is so great to me that I deem it necessary to speak to Phil Gartside [the chairman]about it and not speak to 5 Live as a result of it. The chairman will back me 100 per cent.”

Green’s call for Bolton fans to phone into his show, 6-0-6, on Monday to debate about their team’s style of play was made while he broadcast his show from the Reebok press box, courtesy of the club he was criticising. Despite the furore caused by his comments and Allardyce’s decision not to speak to the station, Radio 5 Live was last night backing its commentator.

A BBC statement said: “Alan Green is an immensely popular broadcaster. We feel that his opinionated style matches the passion and commitment of the Premiership.

“Sam Allardyce was due to appear on Sport on Five last night, but pulled out as he is unhappy about comments made by Alan Green. We are disappointed that he chose not to appear on the show but respect his decision.”