Rugby analyst Neil Francis has been sacked by Independent.ie following his ‘unacceptable’ comments about England and Lions outside-half Marcus Smith.
Francis was widely criticised for referring to Smith, whose mother is Filipina, as having a “David Beckham haircut and an Oompa Loompa tan, while speaking on the outlet’s ‘The Left Wing’ podcast.
The comments were removed a short time later, but were nevertheless circulated on social media, where they were met with fierce criticism and widespread condemnation.
Both the Lions and Smith’s club, Harlequins, released statements declaring their disgust at the offensive comments, and now Mediahuis Ireland, the publisher of the Indepedent has subsequently ended the pundit’s contract.
Francis himself has since apologised for the comments.
Commenting on the incident, a spokesperson for Mediahuis Ireland told Independent.ie.: “Neil Francis’s remarks were unacceptable and he has apologised for them.
“The comments were initially released in the podcast last week but were subsequently removed by our production team a short time later. This should have happened before it was released and we apologise for the error.
“We acknowledge that Mr Francis says his comments were inadvertent but we have decided to end our relationship with him and he will no longer write columns or contribute to our podcasts.”
In a statement from Neil Francis said: “During a podcast for The Left Wing recorded on Wednesday the 14th of July I made comments about the Harlequins and England out-half Marcus Smith where I stated that he had ‘a David Beckham hair style and an Oompa Loompa tan’.
“I was, I suppose making comment on how backs in particular turn out when they enter the field.
“At all stages this is what I meant by those comments.
“Marcus Smith is of English/ Filipino heritage and some of the media comments at the moment have made mention that I have racially abused the player.
“I would never intentionally or wilfully make a comment to disparage somebody on the basis of the colour of anyone’s skin. Never! The comments have been interpreted differently from what I intended and I apologise sincerely for that.
“I fully apologise for any offence taken by the player and his family. I intend to apologise directly to him shortly if he is agreeable. I also apologise to anyone who also took offence to what I said.”
In an earlier statement Harlequins rugby club said: “Harlequins is disgusted by offensive comments made by an Independent.ie columnist regarding Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith and await a reply regarding the matter.”
Lions spokesperson Tim Percival added on social media: “We find the remarks offensive and have written to the Independent to express our deep dissatisfaction.”
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