Ian Wright offers heartfelt apology to Everton fans

Well done that man.

Damage is already done.

Anyway, the remainder of his comments are damaging to Kenwright and are spreading on Twitter. The tide is turning and Ian Wright has helped.

Just because the club didn't seem to inform the police of these 'incidents' when they allegedly happened doesn't mean that they didn't happen. It is reasonable to assume that, if they occurred, the police would have been brought in by the club's hierarchy.

Some of our supporters may have been involved in the banner outside Rafa Benitez's home (I think the wrong house was targeted), so I suppose some of our fans have previous. So why not try to put the blame squarely on the fans?

I appreciate that our club owners and board have often mishandled or misjudged situations badly. This episode is no doubt just another to add to their rap sheet.

Truth will out one day, hopefully.

I wonder how Kenwright is feeling? Normally enjoying the applause of his beloved audiences, this must be uncomfortable ground for him.

He's got options; show some humility and apologise, or, more likely, call up the conscripts and go for all-out war.

Either way, he's finished as Chairman, it's just a matter of time.

And there you have it. That's the way they intend to deal with it, by just forgetting about it.

The issue is where is the evidence and why did it take them until the weekend to make the announcement?

If that happened, then it is abhorrent behaviour.

But as we saw at Tottenham last night, in this day and age, it is usually picked up and reported very quickly.

Maybe the club are playing a slow game. But now they've played their cards, put them on the table.

Some half-pissed fan puts his arm around her and says in a slurred voice, “Fuck me, Denise, what the fucks going on girl, and tell that Bill Kenwright to fuck right off”. Denise, in a panic, wriggles away quickly a bit shocked and shaken at the physical contact and rough beery language.

If it was worse than that, the incident should have been reported and followed up properly.

I was thinking the whole saga would make a good Whodunnit. However, the culprit might be unmasked within minutes.

I saw on Twitter over the weekend someone shared a text from a "club insider" so no idea if it's real but it seems plausible.

It claimed that one of the corporate guests after the Brighton game playfully wrapped his arm around Denise's neck (not to strangle just cause he was taller so that's where it landed as he tried to pull her towards him in a hug) and whispered to her "sign some players."

Apparently she laughed it off although was surprised by the physical contact. Thereafter, she and other club people were seen chatting with this guy in the bar. Allegedly, someone decided to distort this awkward "no boundaries" incident into the "headlock" as reported to the press.

Again, no idea if this is true but it does seem the most plausible explanation outside of the whole thing being a complete fiction which is of course also possible. The least likely to me is that there was an actual headlock because surely the police would be called and the fan banned for the safety of others, even if Denise Barrett-Baxendale, for whatever reason, didn't press charges herself.

So he probably assumed this mate of his, who is "high, high" up at the club – so probably board level I am thinking, maybe a contemporary of his like another ex-striker or something, let's just call him "Graeme" for arguments sake, – would not go to the trouble of fabricating a fake WhatsApp conversation with Bill Kenwright.

He's actually confirmed that there is a senior source close to Bill that is pushing this angle. And he's giving decent coverage of the fact that that it stinks to high heaven once you apply the slightest bit of scrutiny to the story.

I'm still open to the idea of 'something' having happened. But the pressure is mounting on Bill, Denise and the Board to back up their stories. It was them that chose to use this against the club's supporters. They're rightfully getting pressure back and it's not being missed in the media.

Shouldn't the police charge whoever at Everton with wasting police time? Can't someone on here actually ask the police to do that?

Yes, I heard this story also, but you would think this corporate guest would come out and give his side of the story, maybe I'm wishing for too much!

Yannick Bolasie has applauded Ian Wright's stance saying he has spoken the truth about the situation at Everton.

I used to use that photo in anger management classes with kids. They loved it.

Also, Kenwright's got a few of them in his back pocket with free theatre tickets and drinks for the boys. Good on Wrighty for this and I hope he makes those two dickheads, Lineker and Shearer, apologise as well for their faux outrage.

So hard for us humans to not speak at times.

Also his enthusiasm for the women's game. Head and shoulders above a PC Bellend like Lineker and the lump of wood Shearer….

A very good friend and former colleague of mine for over 30 years was introduced to Everton by me many years ago. Prior to that he never had any real interest in or understanding of football. For years now he's been hooked and is a dedicated Evertonian. I take the blame for that.

His kids are loose followers as well. We met up for the friendly at MK Dons a few years back and went to Arsenal in the Allardyce run in when we received our usual Emirates thumping. We met up for the second United semi final even though only my brother and son had tickets. We watched in a Wembley pub.

He's from Warwick, so I'm guilty as charged for the trauma caused to his family.

Anyway, back on topic and to your point Larry.

His daughter started out at Cambridge United and is now the captain of the Tottenham U21s. He has spent countless amounts of hours and money following and supporting her development.

I'm pleased to see the progression in the female game.

Back in 2008, I was heavily involved in Army football. Not a standard to be sniffed at for those who know it.

We made the decision to adopt a "one club" concept. Separate male and female teams obviously, but ensuring that everything, right down to committee meetings had mutual representation. Joint budget and coaching across both teams from the staff. Joint pre-season tours.

I too don't like those jumping on the PR / PC bandwagon, because it's become trendy, but I guess it is good for promoting the game? It's just a bit frustrating to see those who sneered at it suddenly "happy clapping" about it.

No offence meant. I know people adopt different views over time.

Has Ian Wright been on the BBC yet to send an apology to Everton fans for his remarks on MotD??

Interestingly, he said to keep on enjoying MOTD. I only watch it when Everton win, so haven't seen much in recent years.

Reference CAS-7392619-W2L0N7

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting us about the Everton discussion in Match Of The Day on Jan 14.

Prior to the Southampton game, the club issued an official statement saying that the board of directors had been told to stay away due to a “real and credible threat” to their safety.

Club sources also claimed that Chief Executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale had been put in a headlock at a previous game.

This story was widely reported by a number of media outlets on the day, both nationally and locally to Merseyside.

It wasn’t until 48hrs later that Merseyside Police revealed no threats or incidents had been reported to them ahead of the Southampton match.

During MOTD, Ian Wright and Gary Lineker both defended the right for fans to protest and the match edit and post-match interviews were careful not to link the peaceful protests at Goodison to the story about the board.

The programme was acting on the information released by Everton that day but should have made it clear that the stories were coming out of the club and had not been brought to the attention of Merseyside Police.

Ian has since addressed his own comments on social media and issued a personal apology to Everton fans - https://mobile.twitter.com/IanWright0/status/1615340602907828225 (The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites)

We’ve discussed your concerns with the MOTD production team and any future discussions about Everton will clearly attribute any claims relating to the running of the club as such.

Thanks again and wishing you all the best,

BBC Complaints Team
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints