FORMER Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given has apologised after describing a football manager’s poor spell in charge as ‘an absolute Holocaust’.
The 49-year-old made the comment during BBC One’s live football results programme Final Score on Saturday afternoon.
Apologising on social media afterwards, the Co. Donegal native said he would be donating his fee from the show to charity.
‘Inappropriate language’
Given, who played for Newcastle, Manchester City and Aston Villa, was speaking with host Jason Mohammed about Wilfried Nancy’s recent ill-fated spell in charge of Celtic.
The Frenchman had taken over from successful interim manager Martin O’Neill but lost his opening four games and six out of eight before being sacked earlier this week.
Given said O’Neill should have been kept on for an extra week before Nancy’s appointment, with the club facing crucial games against Hearts, Roma and St Mirren in that time.
“I don’t think they should have ended Martin’s small tenure at the start,” said Given.
“It was a week leading up to the Hearts game, a top-of-the-league clash, then Roma in the Europa League and then they’d St Mirren in the League Cup Final.
“I thought Martin should have been given that week at least.
“Nancy took over that week and had an absolute Holocaust in that week and then it was just a nightmare from then on.”
Shortly after, host Mohammed apologised for the comment, saying: “A little earlier you may have heard some inappropriate language so we would like to apologise for any offence caused.”
‘Areas of ignorance’
Following the show, Given took to social media to apologise himself, saying he was ‘mortified’.
“On live television this afternoon, I used a word that I didn’t fully understand the meaning of, and certainly won’t ever use again,” he wrote.
“We all have areas of ignorance in our knowledge, and I hope to use this as an opportunity to become better educated going forward.
“I am genuinely mortified and apologise unreservedly to everyone offended, and will be donating my fee from today’s show to the Holocaust Education Trust.”
Given isn’t the first footballing figure to make such an error, with Carlton Cole predicting that a potentially heavy defeat for West Ham against then reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in November 2021 could be ‘a Holocaust’.
That came just weeks after then Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton described the performance of some of his players as ‘a Holocaust’ following a League Two defeat to Newport County.
Both Cole and Barton subsequently apologised for their comments.