Lord Sugar tells George Galloway ‘shut your mouth’ during fiery GMB exchange
Apprentice star brands veteran left-winger a 'bloody liar' as he urged him to apologise for saying Spurs' loss in the Champions League prevented 'Israel flags' on the cup
Lord Sugar called George Galloway a “bloody liar” urging him to apologise for an allegedly antisemitic tweet about Tottenham Hotspur fans.
The Apprentice star clashed with the firebrand former MP, who was was sacked by TalkRadio this week, after celebrating the defeat of Tottenham in the Champions League final as it prevented “Israel flags on the cup”.
Lord Sugar, who is former chairman of Spurs and is himself Jewish, accused Galloway of “talking a load of garbage as usual”, speaking on Good Morning Britain, alongside Galloway.
He was responding to Galloway’s claim that Tottenham fans wave Israel flags, and told host Piers Morgan: “I was at the Champions League game this week. I walked with 15,000 Tottenham fans and Liverpool fans.. I did not see and have never seen an Israeli flag flown.
“There was no Israeli flags with the fans. The fans had all their blue and white stuff. Never seen an Israeli flag flown.”
He then furiously accused Galloway of being a “bloody liar, a total liar.”
Galloway interrupted Sugar, asking “ever heard of Google? Just google it and you’ll see hundreds of them [flags].”
Sugar replied: “Shut your mouth, shut your mouth for a minute and let someone else talk”
Shut your mouth Galloway! @Lord_Sugar pic.twitter.com/l1RSmIXJJ0
— SussexFriendsIsrael (@SussexFriends) June 4, 2019
On the show, when asked whether he’d apologise, Galloway said: “My team Celtic got heavily fined because a significant section of the Celtic crowd waved Palestinian flags. If Alan Sugar had said, if Celtic in the unlikely event had lost a cup final, there’ll be no Palestinian flags on the cup, that would have been an attack on the Palestinian political entity and its flag. And that would have been his right and he would have done it.”
Asked to say sorry, Galloway insisted: “Israel is not Judaism. Judaism is not Israel. I love Jews I don’t like Israel.”
This comes after TalkRadio labelled the the left-winger’s celebration of Spurs’ loss antisemitic, and announced that it had severed ties with the presenter of The Mother Of All Talk Shows programme. In a statement, the station said: “TalkRadio has terminated George Galloway’s weekly show with immediate effect. As a fair and balanced news provider, TalkRadio does not tolerate antisemitic views.”
The evidence that Galloway actually ‘loves Jews’ is overwhelmingly to the contrary.
The evidence that Jews hate Galloway is overwhelming. pic.twitter.com/fOX8hvsLMZ
— SussexFriendsIsrael (@SussexFriends) June 4, 2019
The former Labour and Respect Party politician said he would see his former employer in court.
Both Tottenham Hotspur and an official from Liverpool criticised Galloway’s controversial tweet.
A Spurs spokesperson said: “It’s astounding in this day and age to read such blatant antisemitism published on a social platform by someone who is still afforded air time on a radio station on which he has previously broken broadcast impartiality rules.”
Head of Club and Supporter Liaison at Liverpool Football Club, Tony Barrett, hit out at Galloway, citing former Israeli players at the club. He said: “Please don’t include Liverpool Football Club in this b******t. It’s the club of Ronnie Rosenthal and Avi Cohen. It’s the club of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane. It’s the club of Parson Jackson and Bill Shankly .. It’s a club of all flags, all religions, all nations and none”.
Media watchdog Ofcom had received numerous complaints about Galloway’s show.
On Monday, Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson condemned the “bigotry” of Galloway, saying: “There can be no place for this hatred in our society. We must stand together against bigotry and in solidarity with the Jewish community.
“I welcome the decision to take a voice that thrives on division off the air.”
During GMB on Tuesday, Labour’s Emily Thornberry said she thought Galloway’s remarks were antisemitic.
Community leaders also hit out at the politician, with Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl saying Galloway’s tweet was “blatant antisemitism”.
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