The Sun newspaper has published an apology for slurs it aimed at Ross Barkley.
A column by Kelvin Mackenzie had compared the Everton midfielder to ‘a gorilla at the zoo’ following an attack on him in a Liverpool city centre bar last week.
Mackenzie was the Sun’s editor at the time of its infamous coverage of the Hillsborough disaster, which saw the paper widely boycotted on Merseyside.
The piece, published on the eve of the 28th anniversary of the 1989 tragedy, also made numerous disparaging remarks about the city of Liverpool.
News UK, who own the Sun, subsequently suspended Mackenzie amid claims that his column had been racially motivated due to Barkley’s Nigerian heritage.
Everton responded by banning the Sun from all club premises in a move which echoed steps taken by local counterparts Liverpool just two months prior.
Earlier this week, Tranmere Rovers confirmed that a ‘de facto’ ban of the reviled publication has been in effect with the National League club since 2015.
Published in their Saturday edition, the Sun issued a public apology to Barkley and denied any prior knowledge of the Wavertree-born footballer’s roots.
“On April 14 we published a piece in the Kelvin MacKenzie column about footballer Ross Barkley which made unfavourable comparisons between Mr Barkley and a gorilla,” read a statement.
“At the time of publication the paper was unaware of Ross Barkley’s heritage and there was never any slur intended. As soon as his background was drawn to our attention, the article was removed from online.
“We have been contacted by lawyers on behalf of Ross Barkley, who has made a formal complaint about the piece.
“The Sun has apologised for the offence caused by the piece. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise personally to Ross Barkley.”