North Shields pub apologises for offensive Twitter response to Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer

The apology relates to a post made from the Twitter account of the Spread Eagle pub, on Front Street in Preston, North Shields, which disagreed with Alan Shearer’s decision not to appear on Match of the Day (MOTD) last weekend.

The Newcastle United legend stood in solidarity with host Gary Lineker after the BBC made the decision to suspend him following tweets Lineker made over the UK Government’s Illegal Migration Bill after he compared it to “Germany in the 1930s”.

Shearer said in his tweet on March 10: “I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night.”

The Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer was flooded with messages of support; however, a tweet from the Spread Eagle pub’s Twitter account (@SpreadEagleNE) criticised Shearer and his decision.

It said: “So does that mean you’re happy in your ivory tower for us to be overrun with people from all over the world, shame on you.

“Tell Lineker he’s wrong, he kicked a football, he’s not a politician.”

Following a backlash, Claire Hall, the joint owner of the pub, deleted the Twitter account and has since apologised for the post.

In a tweet on Saturday, March 11, she said: “It has come to my attention that a tweet was posted yesterday (March 10) that I was not aware of nor do I agree with.

“I am absolutely devastated this has been posted and have been distraught ever since I was made aware and I deleted the Twitter whilst I was dealing with situation.

“I want to make this absolutely clear that this is not mine nor my staffs view or opinion at all, and I welcome everyone, regardless of their race, ethnic origin, or country of origin, in to my pub.

“I want to sincerely apologise from the bottom of my heart that this tweet was sent out and hope you all don’t hold the opinion of one person against me, my business or my staff.”

Gary Lineker has since been reinstated as the host of MOTD following a huge backlash directed towards the BBC from other football presenters, pundits and commentators, which severely disrupted the broadcaster’s football programming over the weekend.

Lineker described the incident as a “surreal few days” and thanked those who showed solidarity with him.

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