English soccer team Manchester United have issued an
unreserved apology after a weekly email was sent out to supporters bearing a
Swastika-style team logo and a phrase linked to Nazism.
In addition to the image, that bears a remarkable similarity
to the logo of the German Nazi Party, the “United Uncovered” email carries the
headline “New Order” – a term linked to Nazism after Adolf Hitler’s 1941 call
for a European New Order – above images of key players Adnan Januzaj, David de
Gea and Danny Welbeck.
The image immediately caused widespread outrage on Twitter
and forced Manchester United – who play in the British Premier League—to issue
the apology via their Head of Media, David Sternberg.
Sternberg tweeted “The creative is completely inappropriate;
we apologise unreservedly and are taking appropriate internal action.”
The UK Daily Telegraph reports that the soccer giants have
taken action to prevent further distribution of the United Uncovered email,
with senior figures expressing shock at the incident.
It is not the first time British soccer has suffered from
controversy related to Nazism. In 1996 Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich,
playing for Aston Villa, was fined $1,600 for making a Nazi salute to opposing
Tottenham Hotspur fans – a team known for their sizeable Jewish following.
In 2013, Premier League team Sunderland sparked outrage by
hiring Paolo Di Canio as head coach - a
self proclaimed fascist who as a player had caused controversy for praising
Mussolini and making fascist salutes after scoring goals when he played for
Italian team Lazio.
Read more at: Daily Telegraph
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