UK Soccer Pundit Apologizes for Saying Player Had ‘a Holocaust of a Game’
by Shiryn Ghermezian
A British media pundit and former Arsenal winger has apologized for saying during a live radio show that a soccer player was having “a Holocaust of a game.”
On the TalkSPORT show “The Warm Up” on Sunday, Perry Groves was discussing Sheffield United’s win over Brighton the previous day with co-host Max Rushden, and when talking about goalkeeper Mat Ryan’s performance in the match, he said the player “had a Holocaust of a game.”
Shortly after he made the comment, Groves apologized live on air saying, “I’d just like to sincerely apologize for my misuse of words earlier. I didn’t mean to offend anybody and if I have offended anybody I’m truly, genuinely sorry and that is from my heart.”
Despite his apology, outraged listeners quickly took to Twitter to call out Groves’ “disgusting use of words,” describing the comparison as “unbelievably offensive.”
One Twitter user wrote, “that’s a really, really s*** choice of language!!” while another said, “Perry Groves describes a goalkeeping performance just now as ‘an absolute holocaust.’ Was the goalie and his family gassed and his bones used as fertilizer?”
Joseph Reiselson, 72, a London taxi driver who heard Groves made the comparison live on the radio, said, “I was in total shock — he could have used any words, anything else to describe the performance, but to use those words is just disgusting. I lost half of my family to the Holocaust and it really upset and angered me hearing him use those comments to describe a football game of all things.”
“I phoned up to complain immediately and the man at talkSPORT who spoke to me said that I wasn’t the only one to call up about his comments,” he added. “Groves should never ever be back on a sports show ever again and yet nobody at talkSPORT has phoned me back like they said they would and he’s due on the radio later today! It’s disgraceful and he shouldn’t be allowed on.”