A City lawyer has apologised for a "hot-headed moment" after calling Liverpudlians "scouse scum", although it has since emerged that he has previously called the city "inbred" and claimed that its residents speak with the "accent of the dole queue".
Clive O'Connell, a partner in the London office of US firm Goldberg Segalla who is described on its website as "one of the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance legal professionals", was interviewed by a Youtube football channel following his team's 3-1 defeat to Liverpool. In the interview the keen Chelsea fan rants, "Why do you think it is [that] the scouse scum were singing, 'You're getting sacked in the morning,' ...Because they know, even those scum scouse idiots, those nasty, horrible people, know that Mourinho is the best manager in the world and that he should stay here".
The interview, in which O'Connell also alleges that the FA "is led by a corrupt man", has clocked up over 355,000 views and more than a thousand comments on Facebook, including an invitation to "sod off you sad pathetic marble mouth briefcase wanker" and accusations that he is a "posh Chelsea c***", and a "Ronnie Pickering wanabee". Others however have supported him.
O'Connell told RollOnFriday that his rant, "was a hot headed and regrettable moment in which I allowed myself to be overtaken by emotion. I am much chastened". Presumably O'Connell was also feeling hot-headed when he sent the following tweet:
And again in May, when he wrote on his blog (which has subsequently been deleted) that Liverpool "is, as a city, today, inbred", and that the Scouse accent has "not gently merged into the more refined accents of the surrounding areas", but is instead, "a more pronounced accent of the dole queue".
Asked about his additional remarks after a week in which he has been raked through the coals by papers including the Liverpool Echo, O'Connell told RollOnFriday, "I am truly sorry for this entire incident. I have offended many people, friends, colleagues as well as those I have never met. I have nothing against the city of Liverpool or its people. It is a city with an heroic history and rich culture. In particular I have nothing against supporters of Liverpool FC, who are passionate football supporters. I am not going to attempt to explain or excuse my actions. Any explanation or excuse would be insufficient. The fact is that I have shown poor judgment here and I apologise from the bottom of my heart to everyone I have offended. I was wrong".
In a statement given to RollOnFriday, Goldberg Segalla said that it was "very surprised" to learn of O'Connell's interview, since "we have always known Clive to be a caring colleague and consummate gentleman". It also defended its man, saying that it recognised, "the passion that football supporters have for their respective clubs, especially matches involving longtime rivals". Adding that its culture was "one of inclusion and mutual respect", it said that the firm also employed several Liverpool fans.
Tip Off ROF
Clive O'Connell, a partner in the London office of US firm Goldberg Segalla who is described on its website as "one of the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance legal professionals", was interviewed by a Youtube football channel following his team's 3-1 defeat to Liverpool. In the interview the keen Chelsea fan rants, "Why do you think it is [that] the scouse scum were singing, 'You're getting sacked in the morning,' ...Because they know, even those scum scouse idiots, those nasty, horrible people, know that Mourinho is the best manager in the world and that he should stay here".
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O'Connell's reinsurance face |
The interview, in which O'Connell also alleges that the FA "is led by a corrupt man", has clocked up over 355,000 views and more than a thousand comments on Facebook, including an invitation to "sod off you sad pathetic marble mouth briefcase wanker" and accusations that he is a "posh Chelsea c***", and a "Ronnie Pickering wanabee". Others however have supported him.
O'Connell told RollOnFriday that his rant, "was a hot headed and regrettable moment in which I allowed myself to be overtaken by emotion. I am much chastened". Presumably O'Connell was also feeling hot-headed when he sent the following tweet:
And again in May, when he wrote on his blog (which has subsequently been deleted) that Liverpool "is, as a city, today, inbred", and that the Scouse accent has "not gently merged into the more refined accents of the surrounding areas", but is instead, "a more pronounced accent of the dole queue".
Asked about his additional remarks after a week in which he has been raked through the coals by papers including the Liverpool Echo, O'Connell told RollOnFriday, "I am truly sorry for this entire incident. I have offended many people, friends, colleagues as well as those I have never met. I have nothing against the city of Liverpool or its people. It is a city with an heroic history and rich culture. In particular I have nothing against supporters of Liverpool FC, who are passionate football supporters. I am not going to attempt to explain or excuse my actions. Any explanation or excuse would be insufficient. The fact is that I have shown poor judgment here and I apologise from the bottom of my heart to everyone I have offended. I was wrong".
In a statement given to RollOnFriday, Goldberg Segalla said that it was "very surprised" to learn of O'Connell's interview, since "we have always known Clive to be a caring colleague and consummate gentleman". It also defended its man, saying that it recognised, "the passion that football supporters have for their respective clubs, especially matches involving longtime rivals". Adding that its culture was "one of inclusion and mutual respect", it said that the firm also employed several Liverpool fans.
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I would like to say this is a comment that wouldn't have been picked up 10 yrs ago but now with social media etc. etc. but he was saying it to man with a microphone and camera... duh!
Glad to see how he handled it. "Hands up, I was a ****". Will be interested to see how the issue progresses - do we as a society try and burn him in public, or acknowledge people make mistakes and allow him move on after an apology. I hope it's the latter.
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But I would even then have enough about me to make sure I wasn't filmed and recorded saying it, that's the really stupid thing he's done here.
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What a sorry excuse.
Signed
A. Woollyback esq
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I have never called anyone scum in my life. Why does he think that's acceptable?
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Virtually all the trouble makers in politics and the unions seem to hale from Liverpool
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