A cricket club has issued an apology after a controversial tweet. The tweet was published on Merthyr Cricket Club's page after the club beat Briton Ferry Town on Saturday.
The tweet read: "Results are in, 1sts get the chocolates down in Briton Ferry Town! Chasing down 186!..." The post was called out for referring to Briton Ferry Town, which has a majority Asian team. The tweet has since been deleted and a Cricket Wales investigation has determined that "no offence was intended by the reference in the tweet".
A former Briton Ferry Town player originally from Pakistan, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I came across it and became very offended. This topic is so sensitive for people from ethnic backgrounds. I got very offended. I have got so much affection for that team and for what they gave me over the years I was there."
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He said throughout his time playing cricket across Wales he had be subjected to racial slurs while on the pitch. He said clubs should be careful with the language used on social media which can lead to certain players feeling ostracised. "When I was playing in Wales you would hear racist comments aimed towards you," he said. "Some people might find it really funny but it hurts. They should be sensitive with what is written on social media. You get offended and you feel like you're not worthy. Banter here or there is fine but there are certain thresholds that can't be crossed."
Merthyr CC issued a public apology following the tweet. The club claimed the tweet was sent without context and that there was "no racial intent". You can get more stories from Merthyr Tydfil by signing up to our WalesOnline newsletter here.
It read: "Merthyr Cricket Club are aware of a tweet that was sent over the weekend and has been subsequently shared without context. On recognising the potentially unintended offence which may have been caused we immediately issued a direct apology to Briton Ferry Town Cricket Club for any offence caused and assured them that there was no racial intent within the tweet.
"We are grateful for them accepting the apology and we recognise and respect their desire to move on. We have liaised with Cricket Wales and all relevant parties to ensure there is clarity over the content and context of the tweet. We enjoyed an excellent game of cricket against Briton Ferry Town, played in excellent spirit, and we look forward to welcoming our friends at Briton Ferry to the club later in the season."
In a message from Merthyr CC to Briton Ferry Town CC, seen by WalesOnline, the club appeared to justify the remark by saying "chocolate...referred to winning and nothing else".
CEO of Cricket Wales, Leshia Hawkins, tweeted in relation to the matter: "Grateful for everyone’s sensitive and sensible handling of this. We are satisfied there was no offence intended. Thank you to [Cricket Wales] colleagues for their swift actions and pragmatic, respectful and understanding approach by both clubs."
In a statement to WalesOnline she said Cricket Wales "will always investigate and root out allegations of discrimination in any form". "The ECB, Cricket Wales and, most importantly, Briton Ferry Town Cricket Club were satisfied that no offence was intended by the reference in the tweet, which it has been established relates to a podcast the Merthyr team listen to. It is widely acknowledged that race is an especially sensitive subject in cricket and indeed all sport and society currently and there is a need, more than ever, for everyone, from sports to journalism, to think carefully about their words and actions – and the possible unintended connotations, or consequences thereof."
She added: "While it was acknowledged that, especially out of context, the tweet in question could be misinterpreted, and therefore could have caused unintended offence, following our investigation it was agreed that the tweet was not in any way racially motivated. Merthyr immediately apologised directly to their opponents for any offence which might have been caused. Their apology, and the explanation for the reference, has been accepted by BFTCC."
Briton Ferry Town CC tweeted: "Some attention has been given to a recent tweet, we have been contacted and accept that no offence was intended and accepted the apology that was given. We would like to move on and look forward to this weekend fixtures."
