Rugby club forced to apologise over Nigel Farage charity event

Woke rugby club members and supporters force bosses to apologise over its plans to host charity evening with Nigel Farage

• Preston Grasshoppers RFC was due to host a charity event with Nigel Farage
• An advert said it would look at the ‘career of a truly groundbreaking politician’
• Supporters criticised the event, with one fan cutting up their membership cards
• The club cancelled the event booking ‘following feedback from our members’ 

A rugby club has been forced to apologise after it revealed it was to host a VIP dinner with Nigel Farage.

Preston Grasshoppers RFC has now cancelled the charity event, billed as ‘An evening with Nigel Farage: The man not the myth’ after anger from supporters and members of the club.

One fan even cut up their membership cards while a councillor who supports the club said he ‘could not believe’ they were ‘taking on someone as divisive as Nigel Farage’. 

The club has since cancelled the event, which was due to raise money for St Catherine’s Hospice, and told LancsLive ‘we are an inclusive club, and it wasn’t the right thing for us’.

In a statement, the club apologised for posting the event and said it decided to cancel the booking ‘following feedback from our members and wider comments on social media’.

The club’s general manager Richard Ellis said he thought it was the ‘right decision’ to cancel the event. 

Preston Grasshoppers RFC has been forced to apologise and has now cancelled a charity event, billed as ‘An evening with Nigel Farage: The man not the myth’ after anger from supporters and members of the club

The event advertisement appeared on the club’s website and was due to take place on December 21.

It said it offered a ‘fascinating look at the life, times, background and career of a truly groundbreaking politician,’ adding: ‘This is not about his politics, it’s about his journey, taking on the establishment, cheating death three times, his love of sport, his insight and friendship.’

According to the now-deleted advert, profits were due to go to St Catherine’s Hospice, with packages of tables of ten offering three course dinners available for £750.

It was removed following a backlash on social media and the club has since issued an update apologising for hosting the event.

Councillor John Potter, Preston City councillor for Cadley ward and Lancashire County councillor for Preston West, is a supporter of the club and told LancsLive: ‘It was supposed to be a private function, but I think it’s a risk, taking on someone as divisive as Nigel Farage.

‘I could not believe that they had made that decision.

‘The event has now been cancelled, which I am happy with.

‘I was not the first person to have seen it; a few people were cutting up their membership cards, and I thought “what’s that about?”

‘Then I heard other reports on the junior sections – that parents had decided not to take their kids to training that morning.

‘If you have people with very strong views in your club, you have to expect some people will be very upset, that is their freedom to take their money away.

‘Farage is a horrible, horrible person, and the only power I had was to withdraw my support for the club.

‘I’m a member of the club, it’s an amazing club and does loads of brilliant things for the community, but all I could do was to withdraw my membership and my support of the club.’

After an advert for the event was posted online, Hussein Khambalia asked the club how it could ‘justify giving this bigot a platform at what is supposed to be an inclusive community rugby club’.

He added: ‘You are supposed to be helping to increase participation in rugby from all communities and backgrounds, not inviting racists to lecture us.’

Meanwhile, Steve Tiernan posted a photograph on Twitter of two membership cards having been cut in half.

Following a phone call about what had happened, and since the event had been cancelled, Steve had now decided to continue supporting the club, adding that the decision was ‘an honest mistake’.

But he added: ‘The decision was always going to have that backlash.

‘For the reputation of the club, I don’t think it was in-keeping with the brilliant philosophy of an amazing club like Preston Grasshoppers.’

In a statement on its website, Preston Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club said: ‘The club took a private booking with Nigel Farage as a speaker at a dinner scheduled for 21st December 2021.

‘The club are not the organisers of the event, but a posting was made on our website advertising the event.

‘This has made it appear that we are the promoters of the event.

‘Following feedback from our members and wider comments on social media, the club has taken the decision to cancel the booking.

‘We apologise for posting the event on the website and giving the impression that we are the promoters of the event or endorse any political views.

‘The club would reiterate that we don’t endorse and align ourselves with any political party or organisation.’

Mr Ellis added: ‘We accept that we have probably taken a wrong turn.

‘The big thing is, we are neutral, we don’t endorse any political party or organisation.

‘We are an inclusive club, and it wasn’t the right thing for us.’

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