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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Robert Kitson

‘It’s ridiculous’: Maro Itoje dismisses Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ‘colonisation’ comments

Jamie George, Henry Arundell, Maro Itoje and Sam Underhill in England training, wearing green bibs with 02 logos and red roses.
The England captain Maro Itoje (second right) said Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments on immigration in the UK were ‘so far from the truth’. Photograph: Dan Mullan/RFU/The RFU Collection/Getty

The England rugby union captain, Maro Itoje, has piled into the ruck surrounding Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s comments about immigration, dismissing the Manchester United co-owner’s views as “ridiculous”. Itoje, whose parents both came to Britain from Nigeria, has criticised the phrasing and accuracy of Ratcliffe’s remarks.

Itoje, who recently missed the start of England’s pre-Six Nations training camp to attend his mother’s funeral in Nigeria, did not hold back when asked about Ratcliffe’s opinion on the eve of his side’s Calcutta Cup showdown at Murrayfield. “Obviously I don’t condone the language he used,” said Itoje.

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