A Change.org petition has been launched demanding that “the BBC should immediately reconsider Fury's inclusion on the shortlist” and remove him from the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist because of his homophobic comments.

The petition - set up by user Scott Cuthbertson from Edinburgh - has received 662 signatures in less than 24 hours.

"Young people need sports personalities that they can look up to not people who express outrageous homophobic views, which can cause bullying and self-harm."

Tyson made a number of offensive comments in a Mail on Sunday interview: “There are only three things that need to be accomplished before the devil comes home.

“One of them is homosexuality being legal in countries, one of them is abortion and the other is paedophilia. Who would have thought in the 50s and 60s that those first two would be legalised?

“When I say paedophiles could be made legal, it sounds crazy. But if I had said to you about the first two being made legal in the 50s, I would have been looked upon as a crazy man.

"People can say, 'You are against abortions, you are against paedophilia, you are against homosexuality', but my faith and my culture is based on the Bible."