Why Jim Ratcliffe should look at Manchester United team-sheet to learn value of immigrants
Eight of Manchester United’s starting 11 on Tuesday were immigrants, suggesting they are even more of a necessity in football than they are to the economy
Billionaire businessman Jim Ratcliffe has now apologised after complaining “the UK has been colonised by immigrants” – or at least he was “sorry that my choice of language has offended some people”. He also insisted it was “important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth”.
His original comment rightly sparked widespread condemnation with Keir Starmer describing it as “offensive and wrong”, although Nigel Farage remarked that “unprecedented mass immigration... has changed the character of many areas in our country”.
Immigration has certainly changed the character of Manchester United, co-owned by one J Ratcliffe. On Tuesday, eight of the starting 11 were immigrants.
Hard to say what the score would have been without them, but if Slovenian Benjamin Sesko had not come off the bench, he would not have been able to score a 96th-minute goal to prevent defeat by lowly West Ham.
Football has many lessons to teach us. According to Dr Liz Cameron, who recently stood down as the Scottish Chambers of Commerce’s chief executive, “immigration is not a choice but an economic necessity” for Scotland. Without it, national relegation may loom.
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