Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says 'sorry that my choice of language has offended some people' after migrant claims

The billionaire Manchester United co-owner, who resides in Monaco, has been urged to apologise after giving an interview to Sky News where he said: "You can't have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in. I mean, the UK has been colonised. It's costing too much money. The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn't it? I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it's 70 million. That's 12 million people."

Starmer called Ratcliffe's comments "offensive and wrong" and told the Manchester United co-owner to apologise. Burnham also spoke out about Ratcliffe's words, describing them  as "inaccurate, insulting and inflammatory" and calling on the 73-year-old to retract his comments.

Ratcliffe has now issued a statement that reads: "I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern, but it is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth. My comments were made while answering questions about UK policy at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK. My intention was to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs so that long-term prosperity is shared by everyone. It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK."

The Football Association are now reviewing Ratcliffe's comments to see if there has been a rule breach, according to The Athletic. FA rules state that "participants" - which would include Ratcliffe as a director of Manchester United - must act in the best interests of the game and avoid improper or disreputable conduct.

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been the latest politician to criticise Ratcliffe. She told reporters: "What Jim Ratcliffe said was unacceptable, it was disgusting frankly, and he should apologise for his remarks. Jim Ratcliffe can speak for himself but the comments he made yesterday were unacceptable, our country benefits hugely from its diversity, we see that in our businesses, we see that in our universities, we see that in our cultural life. We are richer because of the diversity of our country."

Manchester United Supporters' Trust (MUST) have also reacted to Ratcliffe's words on social media, posting: "Manchester United belongs to all of its supporters. No fan should feel excluded from following or supporting the club because of their race, religion, nationality or background. Comments from the club’s senior leadership should make inclusion easier, not harder. This is not about politics; it is about ensuring that the custodians of Manchester United act in a way that unites supporters rather than marginalising any part of our fanbase."

The saga comes at a time when Manchester United have replaced Ruben Amorim with Michael Carrick as manager and have gone five games unbeaten to move back into the top four of the Premier League. The Red Devils' next fixture is against Everton in the Premier League on February 23rd.