Today is the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, a World War I battle in which over a million men were wounded or killed.
Many are paying their respects to the dead on its hundred-year anniversary, and sharing some war-time poetry that serves as an always-timely reminder of the horrors of military conflict.
But not everyone is remaining so introspective about the whole affair.
Piers Morgan, however, has outraged many with a remark on Twitter that the young men in England’s football team should have ‘gone to the Somme’ to ‘learn what representing your country really means’.
England's footballers should have gone to the #Somme.
They would have learned what representing your country really means.— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 1, 2016
Obviously, the people of Twitter reacted very poorly to the incendiary remark, but Morgan claims he’s being misunderstood – and that he was in fact talking about the memorial.
Morgan says he was trying to imply that the England team should have visited the site of the battle during their time in France for Euro 2016, as the Welsh team did.
Either way, it seems he has chosen to co-opt the deaths of thousands for the sake of taking another dig at a football team, which seems in bad taste.
Oh Sam, the battle of the Somme ended nearly a century ago.
I was talking about the memorial. Be more intelligent. https://t.co/FGeYB6baO1— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 1, 2016
While the 51-year-old seems to imply that anyone who misunderstood him is an idiot, his penchant for inflammatory remarks means that plenty of Twitter users read it that way, anyway.
Good grief you spout some shit, but this tops the lot.
— The_Wookie (@The_Wookie) July 1, 2016
I'm not sure that has any bearing on their quality on a football pitch
— Sam Wilson (@MrSamWilson) July 1, 2016
Equating sport with war is rock stupid, even for you.
— Alex H (@LLHallJ) July 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/JimBobFreeman/status/748809458461974528
https://twitter.com/theangelremiel/status/748805926803480576
