Wrexham striker Ollie Palmer has been slammed for taking a dig at Ed Sheeran’s involvement in Ipswich Town.
Palmer appeared on Wrexham team-mate Ben Foster’s podcast, where they discussed the impact Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have had as co-owners of the Welsh club. The duo helped end Wrexham’s 15-year wait for promotion to the Football League and have been hailed as heroes in North Wales.
The Wrexham duo were keen to pay tribute to Reynolds and McElhenney, with Palmer grasping for comparisons to emphasise his point. In doing so, the striker landed on Sheeran, who has provided Ipswich with a shirt sponsor since the start of the 2021/22 season.
“There’s names as big as them that own football clubs, lower league” Palmer said. “ Ed Sheeran, Ipswich. I don’t know what his share of it is, [he’s] part-owner. Has he done what these two guys have done?”
Foster replied: “Nowhere near it. They have just been promoted, in fairness to them, but still.”
Palmer continued: “How long has Ed Sheeran been there? Six years? Seven years? And he’s as big as Ryan and Rob, right? Ed Sheeran is huge.”
Foster: “I’m still not putting him in their bracket, though.”
Palmer: “I’m putting Ed Sheeran up there. I’ll ask you: has Ed Sheeran done as much for Ipswich as Rob and Ryan have done? It’s not easy what they’re doing. They make it look easy. And I’m sure Ed Sheeran’s a great guy, I’m just trying to leverage what Rob and Ryan have done – it’s not just the status, [it’s] the hard work they’ve put in.”
Palmer’s erroneous claims went unchallenged by Foster and his co-host, but drew fury on social media. Ipswich fans were particularly annoyed with the suggestion, given Sheeran’s involvement with the Tractor Boys is not comparable to Reynolds and McElhenney, who completed a £2million takeover of Wrexham in February 2021.
“Embarrassing stuff from @BenFoster and Ollie Palmer. Don't let the facts gets in the way of a good story. Clueless,” one Ipswich fan wrote on Twitter. “Is it that hard to google who owns Ipswich? By their calculations TikTok owns Wrexham,” another added, referring to Wrexham’s shirt sponsor.
“Chatting absolute waffle the pair of them,” one fan tweeted. “Almost spat my coffee out. What on gods green earth are these guys on about?” another wrote.
Sheeran grew up in Suffolk and is a lifelong fan of Ipswich. He has provided the front-of-shirt sponsor for the men’s and women’s sides for the past few campaigns.
“Ed is a passionate fan of the club and the community of Suffolk,” chief executive Mark Ashton said when his renewal was confirmed. “We will continue to work with him and his team to build what is already a strong and exciting relationship.”
