UK Ambassador Offends Argentina With Twitter DM Fail
Jon Benjamin, the United Kingdom ambassador to Chile, accidentally sent out a private message in the form of a tweet, has managed to offend Argentina with an accidental DM tweet on Twitter.
The tweet referred to a lewd Chilean soccer chant — reserved for the Argentine squad when the two states play each other — which goes as follows (it rhymes in Spanish): "Argentines, gays, they took the Falklands off you because you are cowards."
Ambassador Benjamin, who is on his first assignment, tweeted the following in Spanish: "What were the islands that they took, from whom and for what reason? Maybe I'll get to know at the National Stadium this Tuesday? I've already got my ticket."
Although the tweet has since been deleted, the response was swift and unrelenting; Argentines have since labeled him as a "complete imbecile" according to the Daily Express.
Some Argentinians have fired back on the social media site, in both politically correct terms — one said, "this is an insult to all the Argentines who lost their lives in the Malvinas [The Falklands]" — and more charged terms as well — another added " God save this son of a b---- if I ever meet him in the street."
Benjamin has since issued an apology stating the following: "I am sorry for offending with a private direct message that I published by mistake. I have much love for my Argentine friends and respect for their national team."
It probably won't be enough to fend off the wrath of Argentina's avid soccer fans when they take on Chile later today.
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