A furious Lord Sugar shouted at George Galloway to ‘shut your mouth’ and accused him of being a ‘bloody liar’ in a furious row over anti-Semitism today on Good Morning Britain.
The spat took place in a debate about Galloway’s tweet congratulating Liverpool on their Champions League win, in which he expressed relief that there would be no ‘Israel flags on the cup’.
Lord Sugar said the tweet about losing side Tottenham – which is known for having historically significant support from Jewish people – was ‘vehemently anti-Semitic’, but Galloway insisted he was only attacking Israel.
He also branded Lord Sugar ‘the hunchback of Notre Dame’ for criticising him for the tweet despite his own ‘racist’ post during the World Cup, in which he compared the Senegal football team to beach sellers.
Lord Sugar is a life-long Tottenham Hotspur fan who was chairman and part-owner of the club for a decade from 1991 to 2001.
Lord Sugar exploded at George Galloway for a tweet he sent about Tottenham losing the Champions League final to Liverpool, saying he was happy there would be ‘no Israel flags on the cup’
Refusing to apologise, Galloway told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid that he would ‘call out the Israeli flag every time I see it’.
‘I have spent 45 years campaigning for the Palestinians,’ he said. ‘What has Judaism got to do with Israel? I am against Israel.
‘I had been watching those flags all evening. Most of them were not Jewish. I am against it because it flutters over the Gaza fence when children are being killed by snipers.’
Piers responded by saying that people waving Israeli flags at the final could have been Jews, and that the club’s fans would be offended because of its historic links to the Jewish community.
Galloway rejected the argument and told Susanna not to talk to him about attacks when she said anti-Semitism was on the rise.
He said: ‘There are more attacks against Muslims, but you don’t want to talk about that.
‘Don’t talk to me about attacks I can show you my scars. I stand against all of it.’
At this point Lord Sugar came on and said: ‘He’s talking a load of garbage, as usual.
‘First of all, I was at the Champions League this week, I walked with all the Tottenham and Liverpool fans in Madrid and I didn’t see an Israeli flag flown.
‘He’s entitled to his opinion on Israel. The reason why he put that tweet in the context of a football game is because he’s an anti-Semite. What has Israel got to do with a Champions League game?
As Galloway repeated his claim he was attacking Israel, not Jews, Lord Sugar responded: ‘He’s a bloody liar, a total liar. Shut your mouth for a minute, shut your mouth.
‘It was absolutely designed to mean what it does. He’s an absolute vehement anti-Semite, and that’s why we’re so upset about it.’
Galloway had posted following Liverpool’s victory: ‘Congratulations to the great people of Liverpool to the memory of the socialist miner Bill Shankly to the fallen 96 to those who fought for justice for them and to the Liverpool dockers. No Israel flags on the Cup!’
The former MP’s employer, talkRADIO, labelled the post anti-Semitic, and announced that it had severed ties with The Mother of All Talk Shows host.
It said in a statement: ‘We have terminated George Galloway’s weekly show with immediate effect. As a fair and balanced news provider, talkRADIO does not tolerate anti-Semitic views.’
Lord Sugar said the tweet about losing side Tottenham – which is known for having historically significant support from Jewish people – was ‘vehemently anti-Semitic’
Galloway insisted the tweet was not anti-Semitic because he was criticising Israel, not Jews
Galloway insisted the tweet was not referring to Jews, telling GMB: ‘This is Alice In Wonderland, you’re inferring things that aren’t there in black and white. Israel flags are nothing to do with Jewish people.
‘Those people were almost certainly not Jewish, they were flying the flag as a political statement…
‘But I don’t care if they’re Jewish or not Jewish, it’s the flag I’m against. It’s the flag that flutters over Gaza where they are killing children.’
Galloway also challenged Spurs fan Lord Sugar on his own controversial tweet, sent during the World Cup, in which he compared the Senegalese football team to sunglass sellers.
‘It’s like being lectured by the Hunchback Of Notre dame sitting there in his drawing room,’ he said.
‘This man who tweeted racist trash at the time of the World Cup about the Senegalese football team.’
Lord Sugar said he apologised ‘immediately’ for the post and wanted Galloway to do the same.
‘He didn’t apologise immediately,’ Galloway said, to which Lord Sugar responded: ‘Why don’t you shut your mouth.’
Lord Sugar’s tweet showed a photoshopped picture of the team looking like they were selling counterfeit goods. ‘I recognise some of these guys from the beach in Marbella. Multitasking, resourceful chaps,’ he said.
Lord Sugar apologised just over an hour later, admitting he has ‘misjudged’ the post.
The former MP’s employer, talkRADIO, labelled the tweet (pictured) anti-Semitic, and announced that it had severed ties with The Mother of All Talk Shows host
Lord Sugar looks on from the stand prior to the Champions League final at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid on Saturday
Last month, Danny Baker was sacked from his BBC Radio 5 Live show after he posted a racially insensitive tweet following the birth of the royal baby.
The 61-year-old radio host published a picture of a chimpanzee wearing a suit, alongside the words: ‘Royal Baby leaves hospital’.
Mr Baker said after he had deleted the tweet that it had not occurred to him that the post could be deemed racist, because his mind is ‘not diseased’.
Galloway said he would see his former employer in court following the news of his sacking.
The former Labour and Respect Party politician also declared his support for Palestine.
In a string of tweets following his dismissal, he said: ‘I’ve just been sacked by @talkRADIO See you in Court guys. Palestine Moats Long live Palestine.’
He then added: ‘I’ve been given a Red Card from @talkRADIO for ‘over-celebrating’ Liverpool famous victory over Spurs. Not sure it’s the wisest move Mr Murdoch’s team ever made given the history and all.’
Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson welcomed his sacking and decried his ‘hate-fuelled’ comments.
Media watchdog Ofcom had received numerous complaints about Galloway’s show.
Tottenham fans before kick-off in Madrid, where they ended the game 2-0 down
Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl said Mr Galloway’s tweet was ‘blatant anti-Semitism’.
She added: ‘We also applaud TalkRadio for taking this poisonous and divisive figure off air.
‘His attempt to bring hatred into a wonderful occasion for English football has attracted the derision it deserves.’
A spokeswoman for the Jewish Leadership Council said: ‘George Galloway never misses an opportunity to hurl insults at Israel or any person or body that he feels might have support from Israel. He is a repeat offender.
‘It is fitting that both Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur have condemned his self-seeking antics. It seems that this latest tirade has backfired.
‘TalkRadio have made entirely the right decision in sacking him.’