The editor of a Scottish newspaper has apologised for a controversial front-page image that leaned on “lazy stereotypes” in the days before the Euro 2024 final.
Laura Webster, the editor of The National, issued an apology for the paper’s front page which she said “crossed a line”.
The front page showed an image of Spanish footballer Rodrigo Hernández Cascante, known as Rodri, kicking a ball shaped like a caricature of an English man, with the headline: “Time for revenge!”
“We leaned into lazy stereotypes, and we shouldn’t have,” Webster wrote.
“We have listened to feedback, reflected on our decision-making and reached the conclusion that we got this one wrong.
“The front page crossed a line. We apologise.”
The text of the front page also referred to stereotypes of English tourists on holiday in Spain.
“Every summer, they fill up your beaches. They drink up all your beer. They make a mess of your plazas,” it wrote.
Webster said the front page set out to make “a light-hearted joke that wouldn’t be taken too seriously” ahead of the tournament’s final, which saw Spain defeat England 2-1.
The front page was widely criticised in the days after its publication.
“Presumably The National‘s front page on Saturday was supposed to be amusing rather than crass, puerile and parochial,” a letter from a reader published on The National‘s website said.
“Presumably the argument defending its use will be that it was meant to be treated as light-hearted rather than offensive, discriminatory and infantile.”
The newspaper advertises itself as Scotland’s only newspaper in favour of the country becoming independent from the United Kingdom.
“It is a privilege to be Scotland’s only newspaper that supports independence,” Webster wrote.
“This also comes with a responsibility to reflect the best of our movement, and that is what we promise to do going forward.”
