 |
| at the center of the row, Roy Hodgson hugs the victim of his racist joke, Andros Townsend |
Although Roy Hodgson furiously denied being racist after his reference to ‘feeding a monkey’ when asking England players to pass the ball to Andros Townsend, the joke has spiralled into a major race row. Hodgson should know better to avoid racially sensitive jokes. He obviously knew what he was saying and it needs no interpreting that he referred to Townsend as a monkey and it smacks of racism at its crudest.
The England football manager was forced to publicly apologise after repeating a line from an obscure joke during half time in Tuesday’s match against Poland which his players won to qualify for the World Cup.
His delight at victory turned to despair yesterday when it was claimed some players believed the 66-year-old was making a racist comment about the ethnicity of mixed race winger Andros Townsend.
Last night – as he came under fire from anti-racism campaigners – Mr Hodgson suggested a ‘generational’ misunderstanding may have been to blame.
‘You would have to go a long way to find somebody who is less
