Micah Richards opens up about dad's death and tough decision to carry on with live BBC punditry

Micah Richards opens up about dad's death and tough decision to carry on with live BBC punditry Micah Richards' father died not long before he went on air to provide punditry for the BBC during England's World Cup semi-final against Argentina Micah Richards has opened up about carrying on with his punditry duties at the World Cup for the BBC after learning of his father's death. The former Manchester City star's dad, Lincoln, died shortly before Richards went on air for England's semi-final in the summer against Argentina. Richards is known as one of English football's most cheerful and recognisable pundits. Since ending his playing career in 2019, which constituted spells at City, Fiorentina and Aston Villa, he has established himself as a notable voice across CBS and Sky Sports, as well as on podcast platforms. He is also a regular on the BBC and Match of the Day. But while covering the World Cup for the corporation this summer, his world was turned upside down by his father Lincoln's passing on July 15. Richards was told of his dad's death shortly before he was due to go on air for the semi-final clash. Bravely, he made the decision to carry on with his punditry duties in the wake of the devastating news. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football's Facebook page Richards has now spoken out about the heartbreaking ordeal. He admits that he was trying to hold himself together whilst on live television and how lead presenter Mark Chapman helped him through it. "On the day it happened, my brother rang me before the semi-final and I'm going into it thinking, 'How am I going to perform here? How am I going to act?'" Richards told The Sunday Times. "I was on the phone to Chappers [Chapman] for an hour. And he was saying, 'Your dad would have wanted you to do it. This is what you've worked for since you've come into punditry.' I didn't want to tell Joe and Wayne, because I've known Joe since I was 17 and didn't want to affect them. "Chappers said, 'If in the first ten minutes you're having a wobble, let me know and we can just continue with the rest of the guys.' If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have got through it. One hundred per cent. And it was weird because when I'm on camera, I'm sort of loud and obnoxious at times, but if you watch the footage, I keep tapping my foot. I was just trying to hold it together." Tributes and support poured in for Richards after he took to social media to confirm the news of his father's death. He later stated that Lincoln had not been well for some time. "Two years before he passed, I sort of saw it coming," continued Richards. "I didn't think it would be so soon, but he was on a road and he couldn't get out of it. And what was more heartbreaking is I couldn't do anything. "I was probably with him more than anyone in my life growing up and then he sort of took a turn for the worse where he was drinking at the time and I'd seen the road he was going down. "It had already gone so far. So all the stuff he had done for me, I couldn't now give my input to him, help him—and that was the saddest thing. But in terms of impact he made, he was just unbelievable. I couldn't have asked for anything more."