THERE was perhaps an inevitability that tennis player Andy Murray would be crowned on Sunday as BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016.

Few would argue against the Scotsman collecting his third SPOTY after winning a second Wimbledon men’s championship, retaining his Olympic title in Rio and ending the year ranked as the world’s top men’s tennis player..

He certainly had to fend off impressive competition such as runner Mo Farah, who completed a ’double double’ as he won his fourth Olympic gold and became only the second man to retain the 5,000m and 10,000m titles; cyclist Jason Kenny, who equalled Sir Chris Hoy’s British record of six Olympic gold medals with a treble in Rio or his new wife, Laura Kenny (nee Trott), the first British woman to win four Olympic gold medals by retaining her omnium title. All the other nominees were worthy contenders.

I have no qualms about the result but I was a little uneasy with some of the nominations for the 16 places for the BBC for Sports Personality of the Year.

For example I couldn’t understand why footballer Jamie Vardy merited a place. He had a magnificent season and who didn’t cheer when minnows Leicester City came out of nowhere to lift the Premier League title? However, I’m sure Mr Vardy would be the first to say that he was just one of a squad of players who made the club’s success possible and was no more worthy for his contribution than fellow team mates Kasper Schmeichel, N’Golo Kante, Danny Drinkwater or Riyad Mahrez.

Then there was no place for Lewis Hamilton. Second place in a Formula one world championship and ten Grand Prix wins, obviously was not good enough for a nomination this year. However, to me the glaring omission by the BBC producers, is that of cyclist Chris Froome, who won a third Tour de France title. To me any British man (or woman) who triumphs in one of sports’ most gruelling competitions deserves instant recognition and respect and certainly a SPOTY spot.

But cycling is one of the sports, alas, where illegal drug taking has raised its ugly head. My personal view is that those who knowingly take illegal substances should have a lifetime ban from their sport — end of! However, with the jury still out on drug allegations involving Sky Sport’s cycling director Sir David Brailsford (he of the infamous Jiffy bag scandal) and Froome’s fellow cyclist Bradley Wiggins, it seems to me that the BBC producers have already reached their verdict. Froome, was not nominated as he is ‘tarred with the same brush’ and therefore was not included. Call me old-fashioned but I thought the British way was ‘innocent until proven guilty’. Obviously I must be wrong!

On a more positive note (and I’m not talking about drug tests here) congratulations to swimmer Ellie Robinson who won the 2016 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award after claiming gold at the Rio Paralympics, aged 15. What a gal!