London (AFP) – Colombia’s ambassador in London said on Tuesday it was “rather sad” that the Sun newspaper had used its front page to “stigmatise” the South American nation ahead of their World Cup clash.
The popular tabloid, known for its provocative headlines, ran with a front-page picture of England captain Harry Kane and the words “Go Kane!”, a pun on Colombia’s reputation as a drug exporter.
The sub-headline read “3 Lions face nation that gave world Shakira, great coffee and er, other stuff.”
Nestor Osorio Londono, Colombia’s ambassador to the UK, said it was “rather sad that they use such a festive and friendly environment, as the World Cup, to target a country and continue to stigmatise it with a completely unrelated issue”.
“Respect, fair play and joy for the game is all that matters tonight. We’ll be cheering for Colombia and hoping we can all enjoy a great match,” he added.
The two nations face off against each other in Moscow on Tuesday for a place in the quarter-finals.
