BBC criticised for cutting to Andy Murray before he won Sports Personality of the Year Award Andy Murray was handed prestigious award in Miami via video link But viewers unhappy he was introduced before the result was revealed BBC accused of 'giving the game away' and 'killing the suspense' Second trophy flown out to Murray's training camp in advance of vote Sponsor Adidas declares win: 'Not bad for someone with no personality' The BBC has been accused of 'giving the game away' last night after it cut to Sports Personality of the Year winner Andy Murray before his victory was announced. Critics said Gary Lineker 'killed the suspense' after he introduced the Wimbledon champion 'just in case' he won about five minutes before the result, but did not refer to any of the other nominees. Viewers were also furious that within minutes of the public vote closing last night the Wimbledon champion was being handed the trophy in Miami. But the BBC has admitted it has a replica, which was sent to Florida when the tennis star announced he would not be attending the event in Leeds. Surprise? The BBC introduced Sports Personality winner Andy Murray from Florida before his victory was announced last night with viewers accusing themof 'giving the game away' and 'killing the suspense' Announcement: Minutes later the Wimbledon champion's victory was revealed and the camera zoomed out to show Martina Navratilova next to him holding the famous trophy From the moment he held the Wimbledon men's singles trophy in his hands this summer, he was hot favourite to win one of the top awards in British sport this year. His achievement, becoming the first British man in 77 years to win the famous grand slam, also led to him winning more votes than the rest of the nominees combined. He received more than 400,000 of the 717,000 votes cast but there was still criticism at the lack of suspense after the BBC's blunder. Monica Soriano ‏tweeted afterwards: 'Pleased Andy Murray won #SPOTY2013 but didn't it give the game away saying Martina Navratilova was with him before they announced the winner?' Alicia Sewell ‏wrote: 'Did anyone see Andy Murray pop up on the big screen just before third place was announced? Gave the game away a bit. Prized trophy: He received the award from Martina Navratilova at his training base in Miami, but viewers questioned why he was introduced before the result and why the trophy was there already Raz Sando ‏said: 'Someone is stood with Andy Murray who can't be there. I think @GaryLineker told us who had won too early! Alex Hesz ‏added: 'Glad they cut to Andy Murray early, just to ease any nerves'. Lizzie Nicholson wrote: 'Awkward moment when the vision mixer cut's to Andy Murray too soon, giving the winner away, and killing the suspense'. Meanwhile other viewers were bemused by the appearance of the trophy, which was likely stood next to Murray before his victory was announced. The 26-year-old Scot, who was runner-up to Sir Bradley Wiggins last year, was presented with his trophy by tennis legend Martina Navratilova live via satellite from Miami, where he is in the middle of his training regime. Fran Cee tweeted: 'Erm... Andy Murray = Sports Personality of Year after a live national TV vote. So why was the trophy already in Miami? Reaction: Viewers said that the moment that Gary Lineker introduced Andy Murray before the result meant he 'told us who had won' James Murray ‏wrote: ' So @BBC, how did you get the trophy out to Andy Murray in Miami so quickly? I thought it was a open and fair public vote? David Tristram ‏said: ' Very impressed at how quickly the BBC got the Sports Personality trophy to Andy Murray in the USA after the live voting closed.' Jockey AP McCoy was edged into third place while Welsh rugby star Leigh Halfpenny took the runner-up spot. Runners up: Rugby star Leigh Halfpenny came second and celebrated jockey AP McCoy was in third Timeless: Sir Alex Ferguson receiving his Diamond Award from friend Sir Bobby Charlton, an award handed out to celebrate SPOTY's 60th year Andy Murray: 401,470 Leigh Halfpenny: 65,913 Mo Farah: 51,945 Sir Ben Ainslie: 48,140 Chris Froome: 37,343 Hannah Cockroft: 26,151 Christine Ohuruogu: 13,179 Justin Rose: 9,833 Ian Bell: 5,626 Despite the lack tension, Murray, of Dunblane, Perthshire, punched the air with delight as his name was announced. He said he was sorry not to be at the event in person, although his parents and grandparents were there and added: "I could not have got into the position I'm in if I didn't take my training, my preparation, extremely hard." He thanked his family for "making a lot of sacrifices" for him through the years and those who have helped with his training, saying his success was "a team effort." Expressing gratitude to the public, he added: "I'm not the easiest person to support, but I have had a lot of pressure on me for a long time. I'm just glad I have managed to break through. He also made fun of his own voice, saying: "No matter how excited I try to sound, I always sound incredibly boring, but I'm excited right now. That's just my voice, I'm sorry. Back at work: Andy Murray, pictured on Friday, declined an invitation to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony for the second year in a row to stay in Miami and concentrate on his training Making Britain proud: The Scot became the first Brit to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936 Delight: The reaction of girlfriend Kim Sears summed up the emotions of the nation that afternoon, when her boyfriend made history Murray, who became the first British man to win the Wimbledon men's singles since Fred Perry in 1936, announced last week that he would not be attending the awards because he did not want to break his training regime. The Scot is warming up in Florida following back surgery in September, and he has only just started practising again, ahead of the first Grand Slam of the 2014 tennis calendar, which starts in Melbourne on January 13. Murray became the fifth Scot to win the award, following in the footsteps of Aberdeen swimmer Ian Black, who won in 1958 at the age of 17 - and remains the youngest winner to date. In 1973, racing driver Sir Jackie Stewart won, followed by Liz McColgan in 1991 and Sir Chris Hoy in 2008. Last night was also special for Sir Alex Ferguson, who was given a BBC Sports Personality Diamond Award, presented by Sir Bobby Charlton. Poignant: An emotional Alan Hansen presents the Helen Rollason Award 2013 to Danny Gordon (brother), Michael Williams (son) and Sara Williams (daughter) of winner Anne Williams Mrs Williams fought tirelessly for a new inquest into her son Kevin's death in the 1989 football tragedy, when 96 Liverpool fans were killed at an FA Cup match. The award - named after TV presenter Helen Rollason, who died aged 43 in 1999 after fighting cancer - is given for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity. BBC pundit Hansen was moved to tears by actress Sue Johnston and Anne's brother Danny who delivered a tribute. Sportswear giant Adidas instantly poked fun at tennis ace Andy Murray's dour persona as soon as he scooped the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Murray, 26, has been ribbed about being grumpy and boring during his career which was topped by his Wimbledon win in the summer. The star is sponsored by Adidas in a five year £15million deal to wear their outfits on and off court. But just moments after it was announced Andy had won the BBC gong the company took to Twitter to post a tongue in cheek gag at his expense. They posted a snap of Andy with the caption: "Not bad for a man with no personality." The joke was praised by advertising boss Jamie Saatchi, who runs M&C Saatchi Sports and Entertainment, one of the most popular agencies used by stars. He tweeted 'that was quick. Nice one. Fan Caro Paquin said: 'Take that haters £zing Well done Andy!!' And Elliot Gonzalez tweeted: 'Whoever's doing social for Adidas nailed it with this.' The tweet from Adidas was retweeted by nearly 13000 people and favourited by over 5000 fans. Andy retweeted the picture simply adding a smiley face which was seen by his two million followers. He appeared excited as he accepted the prestigious Sports Personality of the Year trophy from tennis legend Martina Navratilova via video link in Miami, although he joked that his voice 'always sounds incredibly boring' no matter how happy he is.