Former England cricket star Kevin Pietersen was forced to apologise after tweeting a joke about the aircraft stowaways.
Referencing the fact that a number of South-African born players – not least himself – have played cricket for England, he shared a link to the story, commenting: ‘Captain and opening bowler in England’s WC [world cup] cricket team in 2019 right there...’
He claimed to have been unaware that one of the men had died while the other was critically injured.
Upon realising the offence caused, the Surrey batsman, 34, deleted his original tweet and posted an apology that read: ‘Oh no... didn’t realise they had been badly injured & one might have passed away. Sorry!’
Pietersen’s initial joke resulted in a furious backlash from other Twitter users, who called him ‘thoughtless’ and a ‘moron’.
Another said: ‘The product of a very sick mind … the more time passes, the more his true character emerges … England are well rid.’
Pietersen’s previous misdemeanours on social media included an outburst on Twitter against former England player Nick Knight during the England v West Indies Test series in 2012.
He tweeted: ‘Can someone please tell me how Knight has worked his way into the commentary box for Tests? Ridiculous.’
He was fined an undisclosed sum by the ECB. – Daily Mail