Nigel Farage was invited to Ipswich Town this week.
Ipswich Town chairman, Mark Ashton, has issued an apology to supporters after Nigel Farage’s visit to Portman Road this week.
Farage visited the Championship club on Monday, and photos of the Reform UK leader holding up an Ipswich shirt with the number 10 and his own name on the back were used by the political party on social media.
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A campaign video from the Reform Party starring Farage was also shot at Ipswich’s stadium.
Farage’s visit sparked angry reactions from several Ipswich supporters, while the club itself claimed that it was apolitical and did not “support or endorse any single party”.
In a statement on Friday night, Ashton said he was “enormously upset” to have “hurt” Ipswich’s supporters, admitting that “mistakes have been made.”
Ashton said:
“I am fully aware that this has been a very difficult week for all of us.
“The employees are in pain. Parts of the fan base are in pain. So have parts of our local community. It makes me extremely upset. Without reservation, I would like to apologize and say that I am sorry.
“I understand that supporters and parts of the local community are angry. I also understand that there are some untruths out there about what has actually happened this week. And I also understand that we have things to learn. Because mistakes have been made that have caused damage and unrest to parts of our local community.
“And as chairman of the club, I take full responsibility for these mistakes. And full responsibility for making sure that we learn from these mistakes – and do it quickly.
“The entire board is now reviewing the guidelines for how we engage with local politicians and political parties. We will decide how, if and when we do it in the future. Because here too we must learn from what has happened.
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