CARLTON COLE has sparked outrage after suggesting Manchester City vs West Ham could be "a Holocaust".
The pundit, 38, was providing his pre-match analysis for the BBC when he used the term, which has upset many listeners.
Cole said on BBC Five Live: “You gotta give Man City some respect… otherwise you’re gonna get picked off and then it’s gonna be a Holocaust, and you don’t want that."
In response to the backlash, Cole came back on air to issue an apology, saying: "I'd like to apologise to the listeners for a totally unacceptable phrase that I used earlier.
"I'm sorry if I've offended anybody, really and truly. Sorry."
Cole also took to social media to say sorry to fans directly, telling one disgusted fan he wrote on Twitter: "Sorry David, I hope you can accept my apology. Totally understand if not."
He added: "I usually beat myself up when I make mistakes. It will take me a while to get over but my heart is in the right place.
"Anything I can do to make amends."
Fans were naturally shocked at Cole's choice of words and some have called for Cole to be dropped as a pundit.
One Twitter user who wrote: "Shocking to hear that Carlton Cole just used the word ‘Holocaust’ as a football pundit on BBC Five Live when talking about a potential result.
"Absolutely disgusting. No apology on air yet. How is this even possible??"
Another added: "Carlton Cole’s use of the word Holocaust in the context of a potential football result is way, way out of order and nobody has said a single word about it, it’s not acceptable."
A third said: "Carlton Cole saying holocaust live on air. Hopefully never on the radio again."
Last month Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton provoked similar fury by using the term 'Holocaust' to describe a poor performance from his side.
That led to fierce criticism with Sussex Friends of Israel - a community group dedicated to promoting a better understanding of Israel.
A statement from the group in reference to Barton read: "The use of the term ‘Holocaust’ has been so badly abused in recent years that idiots think it can be used in the context of a bad performance by a football team.
“If you need to remind people like Barton that 6,000,000 perished in the Shoah I despair for the future.”
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