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British Airways apologized for upsetting Welsh rugby fans by wishing England good luck in this weekend’s match between the two teams.
The airline, which has a sponsorship deal with England Rugby, sent luck to England via Twitter on Saturday morning before the Autumn Cup of Nations match against Wales in Llanelli later in the day.
The tweet, which was later deleted, read: “Good luck to the England rugby team against Wales today”, and contained a short video.
In response, Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething tweeted: “A good way to annoy over 3 million potential customers.”
Labor MP Chris Bryant described the airline as a “total divot”, adding, “How right?” And Welsh BBC News presenter Huw Edwards joked: “I love easyJet.”
Meanwhile the phrase “English Airways” has become fashionable on Twitter as some fans from Wales have suggested that the airline should change the branding.
YesCymru, the Welsh independence campaign, tweeted: “To be clear, even when Wales becomes independent, it will still be a constituent part of the island of Great Britain. Your brand is not “UK Airways”, it’s “British Airways”. Regardless, we have had enough of this unequal and broken “union”.
BA, England Rugby’s official airline partner, apologized for “stepping offside” with the message.
A statement from the airline read: “We are proud sponsors of England Rugby, but on this occasion we inadvertently deflected offside, which we apologize for.”
However, others have tried to minimize the fury. “Are people genuinely annoyed that British Airways wished English rugby luck in their game?” one tweeted. “They sponsor England, they are not trying to destroy the union and change the brand to English Airways. BT sponsors Scottish rugby, but will not be renamed Scottish Telecom. “
Earlier this month, a YouGov poll of over 1,000 voting-age adults in Wales suggested support for independence had reached its all-time high. When asked how they would vote if a referendum were held the next day, 33% of those with an opinion said they would vote for independence.
Thousands of people have marched in Wales in support of independence over the past 18 months during a series of demonstrations.
A September report by the nationalist Plaid Cymru party setting out a possible roadmap to independence argued that only independence could bring fundamental improvement to the country’s economy, arguing that it struggles not because it is too small or poor but because it is “trapped” within an economy shaped in the interests of the City of London.
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