Trevor Sinclair has apologised for any offence caused by a tweet he wrote following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday evening.
The Queen passed away on Thursday at the age of 96 after a 70-year reign. As the United Kingdom entered a period of mourning The FA, Premier League and Football League decided to postpone all football fixtures this weekend out of respect.
Allegedly reacting to the news of the Queen's death, former City player Sinclair posted on Twitter: "Racism was outlawed in England in the 60s & it's been allowed to thrive so why should black & brown mourn!! #queen." That post has since been deleted.
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Sinclair's tweet was widely condemned, with talkSPORT issuing a statement that they did not agree with his views and that they would launch an investigation into the matter.
"We have been trying to make contact with Trevor Sinclair following opinions expressed on his Twitter account. talkSPORT does not support those views expressed and is investigating the matter," the statement read.
talkSPORT later added: "Trevor Sinclair will not be on air while we carry out a thorough investigation into the circumstances and timing of his tweet. While we respect the right of Trevor Sinclair to express his opinion on his personal Twitter account, talkSPORT does not endorse the tweet."
Sinclair issued an apology before the radio station announced it would be taking him off air.
"My tweet yesterday was ill timed at a time when the royal family, and many around the world were grieving for the Queen," he tweeted. "I apologise for any offence caused to those mourning The Queen."
Condemnation of Sinclair's tweet has been widespread. British Olympic medalist Kelly Sotherton described the ex-footballer's apology as "forced". She tweeted: "A forced fake apology doesn’t cut it... apologising for the backlash or genuinely insulting a mourning family?"
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