As World Cup fever continues to build, fans all over the world are either cheering in celebration or getting worried about an imminent exit.
The group stages are well under way now, with pundits and fans analysing every move, secretly supporting the underdogs, and trying to figure out what’ll happen next.
One such game was Poland v Senegal, which took place yesterday, (June 19).
Senegal came out on top after the 90 minutes, winning 2-1.
However, one high profile viewer in particular made his thoughts of the Senegal side pretty clear.
Lord Sugar, Sir Alan, The Apprentice boss and high-flying business man, shared a tweet about the Senegal team which has raised a few eyebrows.
He wrote:
I recognise some of these guys from the beach in Marbella. Multi tasking resourceful chaps
We all know you’re fairly wealthy, Lord Sugar, throwing your hard-earned cash at wannabe partners, who are convinced their business idea is the best thing since Amstrad computers. So you probably like a holiday or two.
But what’s this tweet all about?
It caused enough backlash for Sugar to delete the tweet just minutes after posting it.
He said on Twitter:
Just been reading the reaction to my funny tweet about the guy on the beach in Marbella.
Seems it has been interpreted in the wrong way as offensive by a few people . Frankly I cant see that I think it’s funny. But I will pull it down if you insist . [sic]
Despite Sugar deleting the original, very ill-judged tweet, he did however have a bit of a change of heart – especially to those who shared the picture.
He wrote:
if it so vile why have you retweeted it . You make me sick [sic]
One person wrote back:
Why take it down if it was so funny and not racist in any way @Lord_Sugar ?? Had you even washed your bum or brushed your teeth before you jumped online to tweet such trash??
Your publicist is really working overtime.
Lord Sugar can’t seem to grasp why people might take offence to his tweet, saying:
why did you retweet it… if it is so bad [sic]
I don’t know, maybe because the casual racism of an unelected peer in the House of Lords, who tweeted something to nearly six million followers, shouldn’t be tolerated?
Sugar added:
I cant see what I have to apologise for …. you are OTT … its a bloody joke [sic]
It’s not the first time Lord Sugar has faced a backlash after ill-advised tweets.
The businessman has had a fair few online spats with Piers Morgan, and even took aim at Jeremy Corbyn earlier this year.
As for his views on actual football – aside from the very questionable tweets – he made his views clear on one particular player during the England match against Tunisia.
He said:
Sterling how could you miss that . We should change sterling for dollars or euros
How could you miss the mark so completely on your most recent tweet, Lord Sugar?
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.