• World Cup qualifiers

Chiles apologises for Poland gaffe

ESPN staff
October 12, 2013

Adrian Chiles has apologised for a potentially offensive remark about the Polish at the end of ITV's coverage of England's 4-1 win over Montenegro on Friday.

Chiles signed off ITV's coverage by looking ahead to England's crucial qualifier against Poland next Tuesday, implying that, with 15,000 Poles expected to make the trip to Wembley, it would be the ideal time to get building work completed.

The comment - and the insinuation that it would 'be like a home game' for Poland - sparked outrage on Twitter, with many calling on Chiles to step down. Chiles found himself in trouble for a similar comment about Wembley being a 'home game' for Poland in May, though in a statement released on Saturday Chiles was quick to point out his own Eastern European heritage.

Chiles said: "I made the remark in relation to the nice Polish builders currently working at my place, who I knew would already be fed up having watched their team lose to Ukraine.

"No offence was intended - apart from anything else I could hardly be prouder of my own East European background. But to anyone who thought what I said constituted some kind of lazy stereotyping, and was offended by it, I certainly apologise."

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