Some Newcastle United fans have been fuming on social media in reaction to an image which emerged on Twitter on the 25th of March, allegedly showing a Sports Direct warehouse “clearly not following” UK government guidelines.
As reported by the BBC, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on the 24th of March that all “non-essential shops” were “ordered to close”. Despite Johnson calling for “non-essential shops” to close, The Guardian reported that Ashley’s Frasers Group: “intended to keep its stores open” claiming that “it provides equipment people can use to keep fit while observing the government’s physical distancing rules”.
Despite indicating an awareness of the government’s “physical distancing rules” this image allegedly shows Ashley’s Sports Direct warehouse in operation, with workers not obeying physical distancing rules on the 25th of March.
Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley, who is also the current owner of Newcastle United has been lambasted by some Magpies supporters on social media in response to this recent image. Read the frustrated reactions of some Newcastle fans to this image allegedly sharing a Sports Direct warehouse on the 25th of March in the tweets below.
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https://twitter.com/agbnufc/status/1242865298379886593?s=21
Unbelievable! @BorisJohnson shut them down! He is not above the law and needs to be held accountable! People cannot and are not staying at home to save lives working for @SportsDirectUK #sportsneglect
— David Tasker (@DavidTazGolf9) March 26, 2020
Bad management ?
— mark hetherington (@TOONOULTON76) March 25, 2020
@bbcnewcastle how bad is this ?
— Winston Hill (@WinstonHill17) March 25, 2020
Come on @BorisJohnson will Ashley be having a closing down sale soon ? I hope so ?
— Steve Fellows (@Stevie_Fellows) March 26, 2020
Boris do the right thing, please shut him down and then fine SD and Mike at least a minimum of £340 million each. Thanks
— Paul Barrett (@PaulBarrett28) March 25, 2020
Not the workers fault! They need to eat. Blame the big boss
— Janice Shield (@janice_shield) March 25, 2020
What do we think?
Ashley, who has since stated that he is “deeply apologetic” about his response to the government’s orders, according to a recent report from the BBC, has been an unpopular figure among many Newcastle United fans, since taking the club over in 2007. Considering the seriousness of the current viral outbreak and the nation’s response to it, it may be understandable why some Magpies fans have been slating Ashley in response to this image which was allegedly taken in a Sports Direct warehouse on the 25th of March.