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Dave Whelan: When I was growing up we used to call the Chinese ‘chingalings’
Dave Whelan: When I was growing up we used to call the Chinese ‘chingalings’
(about 3 hours later)
The Wigan Athletic owner Dave Whelan has risked further outrage among ethnic communities by referring to the Chinese as “chingalings”.
Dave Whelan has been accused of a “dangerous level of ignorance” after making a reference to “chingalings” during a newspaper interview that was intended as an apology to the Jewish community for previous antisemitic remarks.
In what was supposed to be an apology to the Jewish community, Whelan gave an interview in which he sought to limit the damage caused by a piece in the Guardian in which he said he believed that “Jewish people chase money more than everybody else”.
The Wigan Athletic owner told the Guardian last month that “Jewish people chase money more than everybody else” and defended the use of the word “chink” to describe Chinese people, comments that resulted in a Football Association charge. Whelan apologised for any offence caused but has yet to respond to the governing body.
At the time Whelan was trying to qualify the appointment of Malky Mackay as Wigan’s manager, despite Mackay being under investigation by the Football Association for alleged racism and antisemitism over email and text exchanges while in charge of Cardiff City, one of which apparently described the Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan as “a chink”.
The FA is aware of Whelan’s latest comment, which came at the end of a lengthy interview with the Jewish Telegraph. During an attempted apology, the 78-year-old said: “When I was growing up we used to call the Chinese ‘chingalings’. We weren’t being disrespected [sic]. We used to say: ‘We’re going to eat in chingalings.’ The Chinese weren’t offended by that. That was the name everyone in Wigan called it [the first Chinese cafe in Wigan].”
Whelan had defended the use of the term to the Guardian, saying: “If any Englishman said he has never called a Chinaman a chink he is lying. There is nothing bad about doing that. It is like calling the British Brits, or the Irish paddies.” The comment was instantly condemned by the Chinese community as being an insult and racist.
His comments come less than three weeks after Wigan controversially appointed Malky Mackay as their manager. Mackay is under investigation by the FA for alleged racism and antisemitism over email and text exchanges while in charge of Cardiff City, with one message allegedly describing Vincent Tan, the Cardiff owner, as “a chink”.
Following the comments the FA charged him with breaching its rule against improper conduct and bringing the game into disrepute; on Thursday it granted him an extra week to provide a response.
The British Chinese Project, a voluntary organisation that highlights the presence of the Chinese community in Britain, said Whelan’s comments were highly offensive. A statement read: “Once again, Mr Whelan, rather distressingly, believes he can speak on behalf of Chinese people. His comments are extremely unhelpful in our fight to end discrimination and racism against Chinese people in the UK. Once more, he is using a public platform to tell a wide audience what Chinese people find offensive.
In the meantime he has risked digging a deeper hole for himself by telling the Jewish Telegraph: “When I was growing up we used to call the Chinese ‘chingalings’. We weren’t being disrespected [sic]. We used to say: ‘We’re going to eat in chingalings.’
#Leeds front. DAVE #WHELAN SORRY FOR ANY OFFENCE #WiganAthletic @FaithMattersUK #EPL #Mackay pic.twitter.com/Y4MBizgXGk
“The Chinese weren’t offended by that. That was the name everyone in Wigan called [the first Chinese cafe in Wigan].”
Michael Wilkes on behalf of the British Chinese Project, an organisation giving the Chinese community a voice in the UK, responded by saying: “Once again, Mr Whelan, rather distressingly, believes he can speak on behalf of Chinese people.
“His comments are extremely unhelpful in our fight to end discrimination and racism against Chinese people in the UK. Once more, he is using a public platform to tell a wide audience what Chinese people find offensive.
“Contrary to what Mr Whelan may believe, the vast majority of our community deem the terms ‘chink’ and ‘chingaling’ highly offensive. For many in the Chinese community these words hold deep emotional resonance, as they are often used in conjunction with racial violence, harassment and hate crimes.
“Contrary to what Mr Whelan may believe, the vast majority of our community deem the terms ‘chink’ and ‘chingaling’ highly offensive. For many in the Chinese community these words hold deep emotional resonance, as they are often used in conjunction with racial violence, harassment and hate crimes.
“Therefore, to say that ‘there is nothing wrong’ with using such terms or that Chinese people ‘aren’t offended’ by their use, demonstrates a dangerous level of ignorance.
“Therefore, to say that ‘there is nothing wrong’ with using such terms or that Chinese people ‘aren’t offended’ by their use, demonstrates a dangerous level of ignorance. We have noticed that Mr Whelan has truly gone out of his way to apologise to the Jewish community, it is a shame that the same level of apology hasn’t been extended to the Chinese community. We can assure him that we are just as angry and just as offended as the Jewish community.”
“We have noticed that Mr Whelan has truly gone out of his way to apologise to the Jewish community, it is a shame that the same level of apology hasn’t been extended to the Chinese community.
Whelan, the founder of JJB Sports, has until next Friday to respond to the FA misconduct charge. In the Jewish Telegraph interview, which claims a Jewish charity in Manchester called off a fundraising event Whelan was due to attend, he reiterated his regret if anyone was offended by his comments last month, saying: “I apologise profusely to anyone who has taken offence because I would never offend the Jewish community under any circumstances. I have nothing but respect for them. They’re hard-working people, they’re honest people.”
“We can assure him that we are just as angry and just as offended as the Jewish community, and call upon him to think of the implications of broadcasting his ill-conceived and ignorant views to a wide audience.
Meanwhile, a Wigan statement published online on Friday, looking ahead to their home match against Norwich City, read: “Wigan Athletic are reminding supporters that it is illegal to swear or use racist, homophobic or sexist language. The club has a zero tolerance on this and any supporter found to be using inappropriate language runs the risk of being ejected from the match.”
“We are pleased that the FA charged Mr Whelan last week and will be keeping a close eye on his response to the charge.”
#Leeds front. DAVE #WHELAN SORRY FOR ANY OFFENCE #WiganAthletic @FaithMattersUK #EPL #Mackay pic.twitter.com/Y4MBizgXGk
Ironically, the comments came on a day when Wigan warned those attending the home game with Norwich on Saturday that anyone using “inappropriate language” runs the risk of being ejected from the match.
Whelan’s remarks came as he continued his attempts to rebuild bridges with the Jewish community by giving credit to “two Jewish boys” for setting him on his way in business after his career was effectively ended by a broken leg when playing for Blackburn Rovers in the 1960 FA Cup final.
“Those two boys, they were absolutely a treasure, teaching me margins,” the founder of JJB Sports, said. “Those two lads set me on the road to it all. I hope they come forward because they were so, so helpful to me.”
In a sign of the dismay his comments had caused, a fundraising breakfast for a Jewish charity in Manchester where Whelan was due to speak has been called off after donors threatened to withdraw their support.
The chairman of Manchester Jewish Community Care, Brian White, told the Jewish Telegraph: “A number of people felt he shouldn’t be given the opportunity and we always listen to our donors. People were expressing displeasure and we felt we couldn’t risk the organisation suffering.”
Whelan was said by the paper to be making a £5,000 donation to the Jewish charity Brookvale for the Mentally Handicapped.
He has also offered the Manchester King David School football team the chance to play a Wigan Athletic junior side and will accept an invitation to address their pupils.
In a repeat of earlier regrets he has expressed in the wake of the Guardian’s story, he said: “I apologise profusely to anyone who has taken offence because I would never offend the Jewish community under any circumstances.
“I have nothing but respect for them. They’re hard-working people, they’re honest people. They fight for what they believe in.
“There’s nobody could knock the Jewish community. For them to accuse me of that, it hurts me a lot.
“Never have I made anti-Jewish comments. We have always, always respected what the Jewish people did, especially through the war.
“We’ve always respected how those Jewish [people] stood up to every single thing they were put through, torture, horrendous.
“And I have nothing but the highest regard and respect for the Jewish people.”
Following Whelan’s original comments two of Wigan’s sponsors, the kitchen appliances firm Premier Range and the energy drinks firm Ipro, ended their agreements with the club.
