Former England striker Carlton Cole apologises for describing poor football performance as “a Holocaust” on live radio
The former England striker Carlton Cole has apologised after he described a poor football performance as “a Holocaust” during an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Speaking on West Ham boss David Moyes and whether he had chosen a defensive side against Manchester City, Mr Cole said: “You can say he has gone a bit negative. Why not? You’ve got to give Man City some respect otherwise you’re going to get picked off. Otherwise it will be a Holocaust and you don’t want that.”
Later during the programme, Mr Cole said: “I’d just like to apologise to the listeners for a totally unacceptable phrase that I used earlier in the show. I’m sorry if I’ve offended anybody, really and truly. Sorry.”
This is not the first time a Holocaust reference has been made in the context of describing a poor performance.
In October, Joey Barton, the former football player and current manager of Bristol Rovers Football Club, issued an apology after he also described a bad football performance as “a Holocaust”.
Reacting to Bristol Rovers’ loss to Newport County, Mr Barton said: “I said to the lads during the week, you know, the team’s almost like musical chairs, you know. Someone gets in and does well, but then gets suspended. Someone gets in and does well, gets injured. Someone gets in, does well for a game and then has a Holocaust, a nightmare, you know, an absolute disaster.”
Mr Barton later apologised, stating: “Clearly no offence was meant, but some people have rightly pointed out to me the use of the analogy was not correct. 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.”
In 2019, football pundit and former footballer, Perry Groves, apologised after reportedly describing a player as having “a Holocaust of a game” on a live radio show. One year earlier, Phil Brown, the football player turned manager, apologised for using the same phrase.
