British Olympian Greg Rutherford wanted to pull out of Spoty over Tyson Fury's nomination

Long jumper Greg Rutherford told the BBC he was unhappy to appear on the programme with Tyson Fury (pictured). Photo/Getty.

British Olympic gold medal winning long jumper Greg Rutherford has written to the BBC requesting to be left out of the Sports Personality of the Year awards after world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury was included on the shortlist.

The 29-year-old told the BBC he was unhappy to appear on the programme with Fury in the wake of sexist and homophobic comments made before and after his title win over former champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany last month.

Rutherford released a statement on Wednesday afternoon opposing what he called "outdated and derogatory comments from a fellow Spoty nominee" and expressed concern about the prospect of "sharing a stage with somebody that had views that are so strongly against my own".

Rutherford continued, saying: "I wanted to speak with the BBC about sharing a stage with somebody that had views that are so strongly against my own. After doing so, I can confirm that reports that I am withdrawing from the ceremony are not true.

"The BBC have been hugely supportive in hearing my own views and I am hugely honoured and privileged to be included on the shortlist for such a prestigious event alongside so many remarkable sporting personalities, the majority of whom I will proudly say to my son I had the chance to meet."

A series of tweets from Rutherford followed, implying he had withdrawn from the SPOTY awards before the BBC applied pressure to convince him to stay on.

"I have opinions, of which I was privately clear. I DID pull out of Spoty, on Sunday I wrote to the BBC requesting removal," he wrote.

"Throughout the next 2 days the Spoty team asked me to stay on. Also, I realised my nomination meant so much to my family.

"I then asked myself, do I really want to disappoint my own family just because of a bigot's views? The answer was no.

"Next thing I know, someone leaks my withdrawal request and the private decision I've made suddenly changes to something much bigger.

"So, I will still attend Spoty, to make my family proud and to thank them for the support in my career, and that's what I plan to do.

"AND, I'm mega keen to meet Tyson Fury's riveting, personality-filled little toe."

The BBC has come in for criticism for adding Fury to the shortlist, with director, Tony Hall, expected to face questioning over the controversial boxer's nomination by the culture, media and sport select committee next Wednesday.

The BBC had previously defended Fury's nomination, saying: "Tyson Fury's victory and subsequent crowning as world heavyweight champion was widely covered by media outlets and his inclusion on the shortlist is similarly recognition of his sporting achievement - it is not about endorsing his personal views. It will be for the public to decide who will be crowned the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2015."

Fury, who yesterday was stripped of his IBF title after signing on to fight Klitschko in a rematch, later addressed Rutherford's concerns via Twitter, posting: "All this talk of@GregRutherford_ who is he exactly?????"

All this talk of@GregRutherford_ who is he exactly?????

— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) December 9, 2015

Last week, the 27-year-old addressed the furore over his nomination, tweeting: "Hopefully I don't win @BBCSPOTY as I'm not the best roll model [sic] in the world for the kids, give it to someone who would appreciate it".

Hopefully I don't win @BBCSPOTY as I'm not the best roll model in the world for the kids, give it to someone who would appreciate it, 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) December 4, 2015