The two commentators are proud owners of players’ best moments with some iconic lines over the years but are not included in the latest edition of the game.
Alan Smith and Martin Tyler are two well-known football commentators who have become synonymous with the FIFA gaming franchise over the years.
Who are Alan Smith and Martin Tyler?
Alan Smith is a former professional English footballer, co-commentator, and occasional Sky Sports studio pundit. He played for three different football clubs as a striker, making a total of 564 appearances and scoring 199 goals throughout his career.
According to Sky Sports, Smith's most prominent time was at London club Arsenal, where he was signed for £850.000 in March 1987. Despite a difficult start, Smith soon looked at his best form and became the club's top goal scorer in four of his first five seasons. He scored a number of important games for Arsenal, including the 1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup final.
With 115 goals for Arsenal, Smith has been ranked 27th within the club's listing of the 50 greatest Gunners of all time.
After forging a successful football career, Smith hung up his boots in July 1995. He then became a commentator, and in 2011, he replaced Andy Gray as Martin Tyler's partner in commentating on FIFA 12.
Martin Tyler, born in 1945, is an English football commentator and semi-professional football coach who has worked as a commentator for Sky Sports since 1990, covering the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, as well as other domestic and international competitions.
According to the Independent, Tyler is an undisputed icon of not just football commentary but sports commentary in general. Tyler's voice was still heard on ITV for another two years as they carried the commentaries he provided for the Football League's overseas broadcasts. Since then, he has led the Sky commentary team, spearheading the network's coverage of the FA Premier League since its inception in 1992.
Why were they axed on FIFA 21?
Despite being synonymous with FIFA gaming titles for over a decade, Tyler and Smith's in-game commentary has been replaced by Derek Rae and Lee Dixon for FIFA 21. That means FIFA 21 players will not have the option to switch commentary teams in settings.
Although Tyler and Smith have not provided an official reason for their absence from the game, it's believed that the change is due to licensing and contract issues, reports GOAL.
What is Alan Smith doing now?
As a Gunner, Alan Smith is still supporting his former club's journey to the much-coveted Premier League title.
In the Premier League, Arsenal's lead in the title race was cut to just two points after losing 3-1 to Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal's dip in form has caught the attention of Alan Smith and Graeme Souness, who both believe that the team has emotional issues that need to be resolved if they want to win the Premier League title.
Smith pointed out that the squad lacks composure, but rather than blaming the manager, Mikel Arteta, he attributed the team's weakness to center-back Gabriel Magalhaes, who can be overly emotional during crucial games. Talking to Express, the club's legend suggested:
'Gabriel would be a concern for Arteta in the future. He can be so emotional on these occasions and that can affect his game.'
What is Martin Tyler doing now?
On February 23, legendary British football commentator John Motson passed away at the age of 77, and Martin Tyler, a Sky Sports commentator, paid tribute to the legendary British football commentator.
Tyler shared that he and Motson were friends and rivals in the industry, having worked together for decades, with Motson having spent 50 years at the BBC, commentating on 10 World Cups, 10 European Championships, and 29 FA Cup finals.
Tyler, himself one of the most prominent commentators of the decade, noted how Motson set the standards for commentators of later generations:
'I've always felt stats are part of the game and John set the standard for that. He was probably the first commentator in the television world to look at that kind of detail. In the early days, there was no internet or any way of really knowing and checking out things without doing it yourself.'
Read more:
⋙ BBC News names five presenters for new TV channel as big names snubbed
