Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton is under fire after he appeared on Sunday to compare his difficulties selecting a full soccer team to the Holocaust.
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Barton used the word in an interview as he attempted to attribute his team's latest defeat to inconsistent player performance. Bristol Rovers play in the English Football League Two.
After initially being broadcast through team channels, the footage was widely shared and condemned on social media by fans before it was taken down internally, edited and re-posted to remove the offending line.
Does Barton refer to a bad performance as a 'Holocaust' here? Am I losing my hearing? pic.twitter.com/u7i5qU9Pcm
— JH (@iamhighlystrung) October 23, 2021
Barton said in the post-match remarks: "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, then has a holocaust, a nightmare, an absolute disaster."
Barton was criticized for seemingly comparing the slaughter of six million Jews and others at the hands of the Nazis during the Second World War to his team's difficulties on the soccer field.
Karen Pollock, chief executive of Holocaust Educational Trust charity, told online magazine Jewish News: "A bad football match is nothing like the Holocaust and this is clearly an inappropriate comparison – it is why our work is so important."
Bristol councilor Fabian Breckels, an associate member of the Jewish Labour Movement, said the former England player's comments were "appalling."
Breckels also criticized the team, which has thus far refused to comment on Barton's comparison.
The team "ought to provide a considered response fairly soon," said Breckels.
Dame Helen Hyde, a trustee of the National Holocaust Center and Museum, told the BBC she believes Barton's analogy showed a "lack of knowledge."
"I don't think Mr. Barton knows what the word means and he is certainly not aware of the huge sadness and offense he has caused. Might I suggest he is encouraged to learn about these tragic events," she added.
In July, Barton was charged with assault after allegedly beating a woman who suffered a head injury.
Barton, 38, played for Manchester City, Newcastle United and Marseille during his playing career and has also managed Fleetwood Town.
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