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Joey Barton apologises for Holocaust analogy after Bristol Rovers loss

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has apologised after he compared a player's performance to the...



Joey Barton apologises for Hol...
Soccer

Joey Barton apologises for Holocaust analogy after Bristol Rovers loss

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton has apologised after he compared a player's performance to the Holocaust at the weekend.

His side lost 3-1 to Newport County in League Two on Saturday and in a post-match interview with a group of reporters he said a player had a “holocaust”.

“I said to the lads during the week, the team’s almost like musical chairs,” Barton said after the game on Saturday.

“Someone gets in and does well but then gets suspended or injured. Someone gets in for a game, does well but then has a holocaust, a nightmare, an absolute disaster.”

The Holocaust, which was was the genocide of European Jews by Nazis during World War II Between 1941 and 1945, claimed the life of an estimated six million jews.

Speaking to the BBC on Thursday the former Manchester City midfielder issued an apology and vowed to choose his words more correctly in future.

"Clearly no offence was meant, but some people have rightly pointed out to me the use of the analogy was not correct,"

"The FA wrote to me this week to remind us of our language and communications, and the last thing you want to do is cause offence or upset anybody.

"So if anybody was offended by that, I would like to apologise for that. I think the FA were right to write to me and remind me of that.

"You hope to use better analogies in future, but it was certainly with no malice or offence intended to anybody."

A number of anti-Semitism campaigners criticised Barton's comment in the initial aftermath.

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