Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier has quit his ambassadorial role at the club in the wake of his controversial tweets on the war in Ukraine.
The 53-year-old announced his decision in a series of tweets on Wednesday morning, just 24 hours after he received a fierce backlash from fans over a controversial social media post regarding the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
He tweeted: "To all the fans of sfc. I have decided to step aside from my role as an ambassador of SFC. My views are my own and always have been, and it’s important to take this step today to avoid any confusion. This does not affect my relationship with and love for my club, and I will always remain a fan and supporter of everything Saints.
"I can, however, see that due to recent events it’s important to separate the work I believe in from my relationship with the club I have supported and played for most of my life. I will see you all at St Mary’s and will always do anything I can to help the club.".
Le Tissier - who spent his entire career at Southampton - sparked fury online on Tuesday after spreading conspiracy theories about the massacre of Ukrainian civilians by Russian troops.
The former striker appeared to claim that the media had 'lied' about the harrowing images and stories that have emerged from the conflict after re-tweeting a conspiracy theory with a finger-pointing emoji captioned with 'This'. The tweet has since been deleted.
This isn't the first time that Le Tissier has landed himself in hot water with controversial tweets, and he was slammed by comedian David Baddiel in the wake of his latest social media mishap.
Baddiel referenced the fact that when Terry Venables was in charge of England, it was during Le Tissier's heyday. But the Three Lions boss resisted the urge to include the Saints hitman, who won just eight caps for his country. The comic tweeted: "I'm starting to wonder if Terry Venables was right," after Le Tissier's tweet had gone viral.
Hours before he announced he was stepping down from his role at the club, Le Tissier tweeted in response to criticism of his previous post. He said: "Let me make something very clear I do not advocate war in any way shape or form I do not advocate anyone taking lives of others and anyone who commits such acts should be dealt with accordingly, any atrocities leave devastating effects on the families of the victims and us all.".
