Matt Le Tissier had served as an official ambassador for Southampton since 2019
(Picture: Getty Images)Matt Le Tissier has stood down from his role as an ambassador for Southampton after a furious backlash to his controversial tweets concerning the war in Ukraine.
Le Tissier had served as an official ambassador for the Saints since 2019 and remained closely affiliated with the club for whom he scored 209 goals in 540 appearances during an illustrious playing career between 1986-2002.
However, the 53-year-old former England striker and Sky Sports pundit has now resigned from his position at St Mary’s, effective immediately.
“To all the fans of sfc [sic]. I have decided to step aside from my role as an ambassador of SFC,” Le Tissier tweeted on Wednesday. “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.
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
— Matt Le Tissier🌸 (@mattletiss7) April 6, 2022
“I will see you all at St Mary’s and will always do anything I can to help the club.”
On Tuesday, Le Tissier shared a conspiracy theory regarding what appear to be intentional killings of civilians in Bucha and other towns before Russian forces withdrew from the outskirts of Kyiv.
Le Tissier wrote “This” and a pointing-down emoji towards a tweet suggesting the media had “lied”, before deleting the post and seeking to clarify his position by saying “the point was about the media manipulation”.
He posted another update on Wednesday morning to make it “very clear” he does “not advocate war in any way shape or form”, adding he did not “advocate anyone taking lives of others and anyone who commits such acts should be dealt with accordingly”.
