Matt Le Tissier has admitted he was “wrong” to tweet theories about Russia’ masscare of civillians in Bucha, Ukraine.
The former Premiere League star, 53, was heavily criticised for retweeting a post that said the media have lied about the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The tweet by Unity News Network said: “The media lied about Weapons of Mass Destruction. The media lied about Covid. The media lied about the Hunter Biden laptop.
“But honestly they are telling the truth about Bucha!”
The Southampton legend then removed the tweet, explaining: “Deleted previous tweet as people as usual missing the point, the point was about the media manipulation but you knew that really.”
Speaking to Saintsplus, the former Premiere League star said he used the “wrong example” to get his point across.
Apologising, he said: “It’s very emotive and it was the wrong thing for me to do.
“I see that now but it doesn’t change the point I was trying to make, I just used the wrong example.”
Le Tissier, who played 270 times for Southampton in the Premier League and eight times for England, stepped down as a club ambassador for Southampton on Wednesday.
He said in a Twitter post addressing his fans: “This does not affect my relationship with and love for my club, and I will always remain a fan and supporter of everything Saints,” he said.
“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.”
This week, Ukraine’s president accused Russia of interfering with an international investigation into possible war crimes by removing corpses and trying to hide other evidence in Bucha.
It comes as Ukrainian authorities continue to gather up the dead in towns outside Kyiv.
