Former Premier League star Shay Given has been condemned by viewers for describing Wilfried Nancy's managerial stint at Celtic as 'an absolute Holocaust', live on the BBC.
The extraordinary and offensive word selection from the 49-year-old ex-goalkeeper was broadcast during his punditry duty on Final Score on Saturday.
Nancy's disastrous tenure in Glasgow lasted 33 days before he was sacked and Given described it as 'a absolute Holocaust' - which was the genocide of six million European Jews by Nazi Germany and collaborators in World War II.
Presenter Jason Mohammad ignored the word choice from his colleague at the time but later apologised on the broadcast.
It happened when Mohammed asked Given: 'What have you made of what's gone on at Celtic, Wilfied Nancy going after the defeat against Rangers, awful in the second half?
Given replied: 'Nancy was terrible from start to finish, I don't think they should have ended Martin's (O'Neill's) short tenure at the start. It was the week leading up to the Hearts game, top of the league clash, then Roma in the Europa League and St Mirren in the League Cup final, I thought Martin should have been given that week at least. Nancy took over that week and had an absolute Holocaust in that week and it was just a nightmare from then on, the defeats and Rangers last weekend was the final straw, final nail in the coffin.'
Towards the end of the show, Mohammad then said: 'A little earlier you may have heard some inappropriate language so we would like to apologise for any offence caused.'
Plenty of viewers were astonished by Given's use of the word in describing the ultimately trivial topic of a manager's reign.
One wrote on X: 'RIP Shay Given career. Given has just said Celtic "had an absolute Holocaust" on BBC Final Score.'
Another said: 'Shay Given just said that Wilfried Nancy had a 'Holocaust' of a week when he took the job. I'm not sure that's what he meant to say.'
A third was slightly more forgiving, writing to the BBC Sport account: 'Shay Given just apologise and withdraw what he said and just own it.
'I'm sure he didn't mean to say Holocaust in reference to Celtic's season.'
Given is widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish goalkeepers of all time and enjoyed a stellar playing career for the likes of Newcastle, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Given is not the first footballer to cause offence by using the word while speaking about the sport.
Joey Barton used it in relation to a poor Bristol Rovers performance during his time as manager of the club.
He said: 'Someone gets in and does well but then gets suspended or injured. Someone gets in for a game, does well but then has a Holocaust, a nightmare, an absolute disaster.'
Barton later apologised, saying: 'There were some comments made after the press conference last week where clearly no offence was meant, but some people have rightly pointed out to me the use of the analogy was not correct.
'The FA wrote to me this week to remind us of our language and communications, and the last thing you want to do is cause offence or upset anybody.'
Former West Ham and England striker Carlton Cole also used the word on radio in 2021, speaking about the team David Moyes had picked for the Hammers to face Man City.
He said: 'You can say he has gone a bit negative. Why not? You’ve got to give Man City some respect otherwise you’re going to get picked off. Otherwise it will be a Holocaust and you don’t want that.'
Later during the programme, Cole said: 'I’d just like to apologise to the listeners for a totally unacceptable phrase that I used earlier in the show. I’m sorry if I’ve offended anybody, really and truly. Sorry.'