“The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn’t it?” So said Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Monaco-based billionaire tax exile and owner of Manchester United. The comments provoked swift condemnation from an array of public figures including Sir Keir Starmer, England rugby captain Maro Itoje, Gary Lineker and the Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club. The Football Association are now investigating to establish whether Ratcliffe brought the game into disrepute, and Manchester United has issued a statement emphasising its support for diversity.

The incident followed a familiar pattern – public figure makes controversial comments, generating a widespread outcry, and then they issue an apology that does little to quell the outrage. For many PR pros, regardless of the sector they work in, this will unfortunately be a familiar situation.

Having previously worked with a particularly outspoken Premier League club owner,, I know that it can be very difficult to stop high-powered execs from saying what’s on their mind. And being forced to issue a public apology for comments made by a spokesperson in an interview is a position no comms team wants to find itself in.

Most football club owners – like Jim Ratcliffe – have already achieved huge success in another industry before they buy a Premier League team (they don’t come cheap!). And a big part of that success is being able to tell a compelling story, communicate a vision and bring people along with you on a journey. CEOs have to be good salespeople – selling the brand, the strategy and themselves as the right person to lead the organisation is a vital part of the job.

Many understand the value of reputation, and the damage that can be done to a reputation – both their own and that of the business – by communications that prove controversial. But it is a vital part of the PR team’s job to remind them of this. It also doesn’t hurt to have a selection of examples where CEOs have had to apologise for sharing a controversial view – and the subsequent fallout – as back-up for persuading opinionated execs to tone it down.

Owners of football clubs haven’t bought a business; it’s a community asset loved by millions of people around the world. This means they have to communicate responsibly, engaging fans and celebrating the institution they look after. But even though members of the public may not have the same emotional connection to conventional businesses as they do to their football team, it is still vital that PR teams help spokespeople understand the damage they can do to the brand when they wade into controversial issues.

The kind of comments we saw this week typically achieve nothing, but risk alienating fans and consumers, and proving highly divisive. And the apology rarely repairs the reputational harm, unless it’s a genuinely contrite and meaningful statement that accepts that what was said was wrong. As all PR pros know, if you find yourself apologising, the damage is likely already done.

I hope the reaction to the Jim Ratcliffe comments doesn’t make other Premier League comms teams think it’s too risky to put their owners up for media engagements, because fans want to hear from the people that run their clubs, and PR teams are more than capable of guiding them safely through interviews. But I think it does offer a classic example of what happens when advice from a PR team is (presumably) ignored, and the reputational impact that such controversy can have.