TV pundit and former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher blamed a “moment of madness” after he was caught on camera spitting towards a 14-year-old girl in a moving car. In footage widely shown on British media, Carragher is seen winding down the window of his car and spitting at another vehicle following Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United on Saturday.

Reports said that some of Carragher’s spit hit the face of the girl, who was sitting in the passenger seat. A male voice can be heard saying “unlucky Jamie lad, 2-1!” before Carragher spits. Carragher, 40, apologised to the family and later said his behaviour had been “unacceptable”.

British broadcaster Sky Sports announced Carragher – who is known for his charity work – has been suspended from his punditry duties. “It was almost an out-of-body thing but you can’t ever behave like that, it’s unacceptable,” he told Sky News on Monday. “A moment of madness for four or five seconds. No matter what the circumstances you can’t ever behave like that. My biggest regret is for the 14-year-old girl to be caught in the middle of it. That devastates me more than anything. I’ve got a daughter exactly the same age and I can’t say how I’d react if someone did that to her.”