Former England goalkeeper turned Sky Sports pundit Peter Shilton has hit back after a Leeds fan posted a clip of him commenting on Marcelo Bielsa on Sky Sports.
Shilton was talking about the spygate scandal when host Jim White told him that Bielsa was Argentinian.
Shilton responded by saying, “Bielsa? Is he? Well that makes it even worse then doesn’t it?”
A Leeds fan posted the clip online with the remark, “Did Peter Shilton really just say that?” which prompted a furious response from the England legend.
He said: “How dare you suggest it was a racist remark. I have the greatest respect and relationships for the Argentinians. I even made a great reference to Pochettino in the same show.”
He then followed that up by saying, “Except for 1 individual Maradona!”
How dare you suggest it was a racist remark I have the greatest respect and relationships for Argentinians I even made a great reference to Pochettino in the same show @SkySportsNews – expect for 1 individual Maradona ! pic.twitter.com/dpnRWpWdOD
— Peter Shilton (@Peter_Shilton) January 17, 2019
OPINION
Slightly ill-advised but obviously light-hearted. That’s what we make of Shilton’s remarks but the former England keeper might want to do a bit more media training. In today’s world of soundbites and social media, things like this can travel a long way and be seen by a lot of people. The funny thing is, he accuses the Leeds fan of suggesting he was racist but the original tweeter said nothing of the sort. He just said, “Did you he really just say that?” which was an entirely fair response given what he’d just heard. Shilton obviously has history after Diego Maradona cheated England in the World Cup by scoring the infamous hand of god goal. However, his defence, to trot out an Argentinian he has great respect for doesn’t entirely work here. And he didn’t come back and say that he loves Bielsa and his methods of working. So, still work to do Peter.