Sacked football commentator Andy Gray and his co-presenter Richard Keys are in the final stages of talks with Arab channel Al Jazeera, it was reported last night.

The Qatari network's viewers are far removed from the sexism row that has engulfed the presenters after their disparaging comments about a female match official were aired earlier this week, and a move to the Middle East could go a long way towards replacing the £1.7 million salary that the Scottish pundit is reported to have lost when he was forced out of Sky.

Keys, 53, has already worked with Doha-based Al Jazeera as one of its key commentators for the 2008 European Championship, and he was reported to have visited the network's headquarters in Doha yesterday afternoon to negotiate on behalf of both men.

If the move from Sky Sports goes ahead, Glasgow-born Gray, 55, would spend much of his time in Qatar, though some broadcasts could be presented from the network's London outpost.

Nearly one week after the commentators were filmed joking that match official Sian Massey would be ignorant of the offside rule because she is a woman, the 25-year-old official is still feeling the repercussions.

She has been withdrawn from today's fixture between Corby Town and Eastwood due to floods of interest from television stations seeking permission to televise the match, threatening to create an unwanted media circus in the small, Scottish expat-filled steel town.

Ms Massey inadvertently found herself at the centre of the sexism row when Gray and Sky Sports reporter Andy Burton were shown in a second video arguing over whether or not she is attractive. The part-time official, who works as a PE teacher during the week, has largely kept out of the media spotlight as the storm has raged, and refereeing authorities are keen to avoid any further scrutiny of her on live television.

A spokesman for the Professional Game Match Officials' organisation said: "The focus needs to be on the football match not the officials. It would be unfair on the clubs involved."

A wide range of public figures have now weighed into the debate, with former Apprentice contestant Katie Hopkins yesterday attacking West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady, who was also targeted.

While Ms Brady said the comments "made her blood boil", Ms Hopkins claimed Sky Sports had "lost its sense of humour".

"I think women actually don't want equal treatment – they couldn't handle it if they got it, quite a number of them," she said. "It's a tough world out there and what a lot of women are asking for, and you can look aghast at this, is special treatment."

Keys' wife, Julia, dismissed the presenters' comments as "banter from the boys", adding: "It doesn't quite make sense in a way and it's questionable the way it has been handled.

"I think Sky was offside in the way it handled it."

While debate has raged over the comments Gray and Keys made last week, as well as another video in which the Scot asks a female co-presenter to help tuck a microphone into his trousers – viewers in Qatar and the rest of the Arab world are less likely to be concerned.

It was not until 1999 that women in Qatar won the right to vote, and although it is relatively liberal compared to some Arab neighbours, ingrained social customs mean the emirate is still some way off Western standards of women's rights.

Women do not have to cover their faces or hair, but dress codes are fairly conservative for both men and women.

Qatar was recently unveiled as a surprise choice to host the World Cup in 2022, and football will be brought increasingly to the fore for many of the nation's 1.7 million people.

Al Jazeera could bring Gray and Keys to a far larger audience worldwide, with the channel's English-language service accessible to more than 100 million households around the world.

Since it first began broadcasting in English five years ago, Al Jazeera has rapidly built up a reputation among Arab ex-pats and non-Arabic speaking audiences in many countries.

It is owned by Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer al-Thani through the Qatar Media Corporation, and the English-language service operates as a sister service to the Arabic broadcast.