Mediahuis Ireland, publisher of Independent.ie, has decided to end the contract of Neil Francis, the former Irish international turned analyst and columnist, following comments he made about the colour of Marcus Smith’s skin.
As The Irish Times reports, Francis made the remarks about the Harlequins, and now Lions outhalf Smith on Independent.ie’s The Left Wing podcast, which both Harlequins and the Lions described as offensive.
A spokesperson for Mediahuis Ireland said: “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.”
Francis also issued a statement in which he apologised. “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’.
🃏 Club statement: https://t.co/tBMGkTsee0 comments on Marcus Smith.https://t.co/bU6nDaKKot
Advertisement— Harlequins 🃏 (@Harlequins) July 23, 2021
Interpreted differently
“I suppose I was making a 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."
An earlier statement from Harlequins rugby club read: “Harlequins is disgusted by racist comments made by Independent.ie columnist Neil Francis on the publication’s rugby podcast, The Left Wing, on July 14 about Harlequins, England, and British and Irish Lions fly-half Marcus Smith.
“The club firmly believes that there is no room for racism in any part of society, let alone professional sport. Harlequins await a written reply from The Independent.ie regarding this matter.”
Meanwhile, Connacht's Jack Carty, who is an ambassador for the Rugby Players of Ireland said on Twitter: “What a disgrace to see comments made about the colour of a player’s skin, in addition to previous homophobic and xenophobic comments that I’ve read in the past. All of which have no place in our game nor in our wider society for that matter.”
What a disgrace to see comments made about the colour of a player’s skin, in addition to previous homophobic and xenophobic comments that I’ve read in the past. All of which have no place in our game nor in our wider society for that matter.
— Jack Carty (@JackCarty10) July 23, 2021
