Arsenal condemn racist ‘DVD’ remark directed at Tottenham’s Son Heung-min by AFTV pundit Claude Callegeri… and distance themselves from popular YouTube channel, saying it has ‘no official association with the club’
- Claude Callegari made the remark as Son Hueng-min was substituted off
- Host Robbie Lyle issued an apology in the early hours of Wednesday morning
- And Callegari will no longer be working with the Arsenal Fan TV channel
- Now, Arsenal FC have condemned the platform’s ‘unacceptable racist behaviour’
Arsenal have condemned a fan on supporters channel AFTV for a racist slur made against Tottenham’s Son Heung-min during the North London derby on Sunday.
Claude Callegeri was heard saying ‘DVD’s going off’ as Son was substituted during Spurs’ 2-1 win on Sunday and Callegeri has received widespread criticism, with the reference to selling DVDs from a market stall a racist term that has been directed at Asian footballers, including Son, in the past.
Callegeri has since been removed from the channel ‘indefinitely’ and apologised, but only after he and channel owner Robbie Lyle attempted to justify the remark.
Arsenal Fan TV pundit Claude Callegari has apologised for calling Son Hueng-min ‘DVD’
Claude (back left) made the ‘DVD’ comment as Son was substituted in the 94th minute
Son scored as Tottenham ran out 2-1 winners against rivals Arsenal in Sunday’s clash
The Gunners have distanced themselves from AFTV, which has over one million subscribers, and condemned the ‘unacceptable racist behaviour’.
‘We are aware of a video on social media in which an Arsenal supporter uses a racist slur towards Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min during Sunday’s match,’ they said in a statement.
‘We operate a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination and we unreservedly condemn this unacceptable racist behaviour.
‘Our records show that the individual involved is not an Arsenal season-ticket holder and does not hold any form of ticket membership. The platform in question has no official association with Arsenal.’
Lyle and Callegeri had appeared in a video on Tuesday to address the issue, suggesting he meant that Spurs would release a celebratory DVD of their derby win.
AFTV presenter Robbie Lyle (left) has apologised for a ‘derogatory remark’ relating to Tottenham player Son Heung-min made by regular contributor Claude Callegari (right)
Lyle later performed a u-turn and stood down the outspoken Callegeri from the channel.
He tweeted: ‘I would like to sincerely apologise for the derogatory remark heard on the AFTV livestream on Sunday, and for the response video that we put out today where we failed to apologise and take onus for the comment,’ Lyle said on Twitter.
‘As a channel that has millions of viewers around the world, I fully recognise the power that comments made by myself or people on our platform have, and it is paramount that we do not allow comments of this nature to be made in any form.
‘As such, it is only appropriate that Claude is removed from the channel indefinitely.
Lyle issued a series of tweets late on Tuesday night in which he apologised for the remark
Lyle confirmed that Claude would be removed from the AFTV network ‘indefinitely’
‘In no way do I or AFTV condone racism of any kind and it is important we take appropriate action in line with the comment made.’
Callegeri also apologised for his actions in a video on Twitter.
‘Unfortunately, what’s happened here is a few days ago in the game against Spurs, I made a comment, my only thing was the timing was all wrong when I made the comment.
‘It’s caused a lot of offence to Son and all the Spurs fans, and I want to apologise to Spurs fans and Son for that because of the offence it has caused.
Last year, a West Ham fan was fined after pleading guilty in court to a racially aggravated offence, which included a ‘DVD’ comment aimed at Son
‘What can I do? It’s caused a lot of offence and I want to apologise because I admire Son as a player.’
AFTV is one of the most popular fan-produced YouTube channels in the world with 1.18million subscribers.
Last year, a West Ham fan was fined £184 and ordered to pay £110 costs by Thames Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to a racially aggravated offence for aiming racial abuse, including a ‘DVD’ comment, at Son during a Carabao Cup fixture.
