Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan believes he has been misquoted by a journalist, after his comments on Jewish people during an interview defending Malky Mackay have caused uproar.
Bury South MP Ivan Lewis and others have said that he shares the immoral views of the new manager after allegedly saying “Jewish people chase money more than everybody else.”
However the 77-year-old feels hard done by and has accused a Guardian journalist of misunderstanding him despite Whelan apologising profusely for any upset he may have caused.
“I think he has misquoted me and if it is causing offence to anybody please accept my apology because I did not say that,” he told the BBC.
“I must have had 50 reporters chasing me all day today and you can get a little flustered at times and you may say the wrong word or the wrong thing.”
Whelan also mentioned the word ‘chink’ in his Guardian interview, apparently saying: “If an Englishman said he has never called a Chinaman a chink, he is lying.”
Once again though, the former Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra player believes his words have been twisted by the media.
“I would never call a Chinaman a chink personally, I don’t use that kind of language, but other people do,” said Whelan.
“If somebody says to a Chinaman, ‘you’re a chink’, would he be upset about it? I don’t know really. If he was upset, I would say I am very sorry, I will never call you that again.”
Whelan has also this week chosen Mackay as Wigan’s new manager while he is under investigation by the FA for sending racist, sexist and homophobic texts during his tenure at Cardiff City.
Anti-racism campaigner Kick It Out have questioned whether the businessman is a ‘fit and proper person’ for the job after making what may seem like poor decisions to many.
When asked about his response to people’s criticism, Whelan said: “That is a little unfair on me as I did not make these comments. If I have upset one person, I apologise.”
Wigan face Middlesborough tomorrow at the DW Stadium after a week of huge controversy, but as they sit 22nd in the Championship they will be hoping that this will soon be water under the bridge.
Whelan added: “Whatever has been done has been done by me and I should take the full responsibility.”
Main image courtesy of BBC via YouTube, with thanks.
