The Dutch commentator who Kellie Harrington shared a controversial tweet of has publicly backed the boxer.
Olympic gold medallist Harrington retweeted a video from GB News last October which featured Eva Vlaardingerbroek speaking on the death of a 12-year-old girl in France.
In the clip, Vlaardingerbroek said: “I woke up this morning to see the news of another young European girl who was sacrificed on the altar of mass migration. We have four people in custody, all migrants coming from Algeria.
READ MORE: Kellie Harrington releases statement after Off The Ball interview
“This is the 12th girl I believe in France that has been killed this year by an immigrant and that’s just France.”
Harrington commented at the time: “Very, very sad. A powerful message from Eva Vlaardingerbroek. Our own leaders need to take a listen to this. She believes this is the 12th girl in France this year who has been killed by an immigrant.. And that’s just France.”
The Dubliner was asked about the comments during an interview with Off The Ball earlier this week, but refused to answer questions on the matter, telling the interviewer to "let it go and move on".
She later released a statement on Monday night which read: "Last October, I reposted a tweet of a video from a journalist [whom I did not know at the time] detailing the story of a young girl from France who was kidnapped and murdered.
"Moved by the horrific circumstances of this story, I reposted a video of this journalist together with a copy of my quote. My thoughts in that moment were of that young girl and not any political opinion.
"Having realised the significance of my tweet and the hurt caused to a number of people, I immediately deleted the tweet.
"I engaged privately with a number of people who were hurt by my tweet and I apologised to them.
"As a sporting role model I am aware that I need to be mindful of what I do and say. I reacted with my emotions and without the facts. How this came across is not reflective of me as a person or my thoughts.
"I do not want to engage in politically sensitive matters.
"What I want to make clear is, through my life in boxing and inside boxing, I have been lucky to have had many multicultural influences and this continues to shape me to this day.
"That is something that shapes me as the person I am today and something I am very grateful for.
"The people closest to me will attest to this. Since the interview, I have seen some comments that I feel I should address and make my feelings and thoughts clear.
"As a sportswoman, I am proud to say I am all about community, inclusion and diversity."
Vlaardingerbroek took to social media to have her say on the matter on Tuesday, initially writing: "Just found out the Irish media tried cancelling Olympic champion @Kelly64kg for retweeting a segment of mine about a 12 y/o French girl who was brutally raped & murdered by an illegal migrant back in October. The woke mob truly comes after anyone who dares to speak the truth."
She later added after seeing Harrington's statement: "Sad to see Kellie Harrington has capitulated and has apologised for the 'hurt caused' by her tweet.
"Even sadder to see we live in a world where being politically correct is more important than speaking out about the truth and standing up for the life of a young innocent girl."
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