Eastbourne football club disassociates itself from player’s comments at fishing tragedy

An Eastbourne football club and the business which sponsors it have this week distanced themselves from a player who posted comments about the fishing tragedy at the weekend in which one fisherman died and another is missing at sea.
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The fishing vessel Joanna C capsized on Saturday morning off the coast of Newhaven prompting a major rescue operation. One fisherman was rescued clinging to a buoy, the body of another was recovered from the wreck and a third man is still missing.

In the following days a player with Eastbourne Rangers posted comments on public social media pages regarding the tragedy.

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Following a public backlash at the comments and upset on social media, Eastbourne Rangers said this week it did not condone the player’s comments.

The Joanna C. Photo provided by Eastbourne RNLI SUS-201123-130038001The Joanna C. Photo provided by Eastbourne RNLI SUS-201123-130038001
The Joanna C. Photo provided by Eastbourne RNLI SUS-201123-130038001

In a statement the club said, “Eastbourne Rangers FC have been made aware of comments made by one of our players via his private social media account regarding the tragedy involving two fishermen who were lost at sea following the sinking of the Joanna C fishing vessel at the weekend.

“As a club we do not condone the comments made by the player in question, or share his privately held views that have caused deep upset to many people.

“We are a small local grassroots club and none of our players are employed by or contracted to us. We are therefore unable to police or influence what any of our players post on their private social media accounts.

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“However we wish to be clear that the club dissociates themselves from the comments made in regard to the missing fishermen and that the views expressed in the posts are the player’s alone.

“With regards to all the private messages received by the club, we apologise for not being able to respond to each individual one but the club is run by a very small group of volunteers with limited spare time on their hands.

“Lastly, and most importantly, we would like to send our deep and heartfelt thoughts and well wishes to the families, loved ones and friends of the missing fisherman at this deeply distressing time.

“The club will also be making a donation to the Go Fund Me page set up to provide for the families of the fishermen involved in this tragic incident.”

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In addition, Lushington Motors – which sponsors Eastbourne Rangers FC – has also issued a statement.

Director Matt Emerson said, “We as a company do not condone or share the player’s comments about the lives of the fishermen lost at sea over the weekend. We sponsor the club he plays for, and have no association with this individual at all.

“I personally send my condolences to the families affected in this tragedy and the fishing community as a whole.

“One of my employees is a fisherman and know the hard work and risk involved in the job they do. Being born and bred in the seaside town of Eastbourne, buying and supporting locally caught fish is something I encourage.

“Lastly I would like to thank the local support of the RNLI who put their lives at risk too in such tragedies.”