‘Nasty’ - Arsenal great Ian Wright apologies after what he said about Everton fans

Ian Wright has apologised to Everton fans following his comments on Match of the Day where he insinuated that they had gone too far in their protests of their owners.

The former Arsenal striker poured his heart out on his podcast ‘Wrighty’s House’ after he made false allegations towards fans after the weekend’s 2-1 loss at Goodison Park to Southampton after claiming it was ‘abhorrent’ that Denise Barrett-Baxendale was reportedly placed in a headlock, however no such incidents were reported to the police, as confirmed today.

Everton had released a statement hours before kick-off specifying that chairman Bill Kenwright, chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, chief finance officer Grant Ingles and non-executive director Graeme Sharp all stay away from the game against Southampton to ensure their safety. But Merseyside Police have since confirmed that they didn’t receive any reports of threats from the Goodison Park hierarchy after the board of directors.

Speaking on Match of the Day on the weekend, Wright had initially said: “You have got a right to protest and absolutely you should - peacefully. Whatever Everton are going though it will be frustrating for the fans but protesting in that way, intimidation, that’s not going to help. I always found, speaking for myself, once I got on there you just dealt with what you’re dealing with but when you look at Everton they seem to be all over the place at the moment.”

But has since responded on social media, tweeting a clip of him from his podcast apologising with the caption ‘For the Everton fans’ alongside a blue heart and praying hands emoji. He explained that he should have said ‘alleged’ threats and went onto to sympathise with Everton fans during a tough time for the club.

“I just want to apologise because I should have said allegedly, and now what I want to see is proof. But one thing is for sure, that board and those fans – that’s over. Because they really tried to throw those fans under the bus after all of those frustrations they’ve gone through up until this point.

“They tried to deflect the fact that they’ve been so incompetent with their work up until now that they wanted to deflect it onto the fans being nasty. I’m sorry Toffees.”

The Toffees have won just three of their 19 matches this season, losing 10 times as they sit in the bottom three of the Premier League. They sit rooted in 19^th place alongside Southampton and West Ham and face the prospect of another relegation dogfight under Frank Lampard once again.