Manchester City has reportedly fired two radio presenters who made “racist” Jackie Chan jokes with Chinese accents while on air.
Mike McClean and Nigel Clucas are both members of the club’s casual staff who worked at the ‘City Square’ outside the Etihad Stadium before matches. The men are also hosts of ‘City Sausage,’ a short-lived podcast dedicated to Manchester City, reports MailOnline.
Get subscribing #mcfc fans RT @citysausage: Episode 1 is coming. 😉⚽️
iTunes: https://t.co/3dANjQlqJe
Spotify: https://t.co/S8pUSv9eyj
Stitcher: https://t.co/Zxr4u44UCp
Get subscribing now! 🎧#MCFC #CitySausage https://t.co/PblB9j0wjP
— Stu 🐝⚽️🎗 (@Mataniels) July 31, 2019
During a recent podcast, the program hosts adopted a fictitious ‘Mr. Wong’ persona while discussing the Premier League side’s late arrival in China in their pre-season tour.
I can’t believe our tour to China was delayed because of Mr Wong #CitySausage #mcfc
— Stu 🐝⚽️🎗 (@Mataniels) August 6, 2019
McClean, who played the role of the “Mr. Wong” character, said: “‘you like Jackie Chan? Me (sic) like Jackie Chan! We no [sic] have paperwork or Jackie Chan film on plane. You need Jackie Chan film on plane.”
My self and #wingman just having a bath after recording our 1st @citysausage podcast coming very very soon . pic.twitter.com/j8z8qCZfoi
— Mike McClean (@mikemcclean5) July 29, 2019
While the “City Sausage” podcast itself is not affiliated with the Premier League champions, the joke is seen as a significant embarrassment since 13% of the City Football Group is owned by Chinese investors.
In response to the podcast, Manchester City released a statement condemning the racist bit and announcing that the club will be firing them both.
“Upon being made aware of the podcast in question, Manchester City immediately began to examine the circumstances of its creation and publication,” read the statement.
“The presenters responsible for the podcast, made independently from the club, had been engaged by Manchester City to support match day events.”
“A decision has been made that they will no longer be retained by the club. The club has a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination of any kind and strongly condemns the behavior of this nature.”
Neither McClean nor Clucas has apologized for the alleged racist joke or addressed the controversy directly.
Massive thanks to the best fans in the world for your lovely messages . For obvious reasons my lips are sealed For now . 😏…
— Mike McClean (@mikemcclean5) August 9, 2019
Featured image via Instagram/citysausage
