Jon Benjamin says tweet that referred to Chilean football chant mocking Falklands war defeat was meant to be private
Britain's ambassador to Chile has been forced to apologise for what was meant to be a private Twitter jibe against Argentina and its defeat in the Falklands war.
Jon Benjamin, a diplomat for more than 25 years, was so happy about getting a ticket to the World Cup qualifying clash between the South American countries in Santiago on Tuesday that he went more public than he meant with a posting.
Adopting a Chilean football taunt that goes "Argentines, faggots, you lost the Malvinas because you are idiots", Benjamin tweeted in Spanish, asking: "Which islands did they take off who and for being what?" But he forgot to make it private.
Twitter responders criticised the self-styled "Hammers fan, Londoner at heart, Jewish atheist", one calling him an imbecile. Benjamin's remarks have also drawn threats of violence and anti-semitic responses.
Benjamin deleted his offending tweet and apologised, saying it had been a private tweet and that he had "great affection for my Argentine friends and respect for their team". The Argentine sports daily Ole said that was no excuse.
The Foreign Office said: "Our ambassador to Chile appears to have inadvertently caused some controversy in a tweet. He has deleted it."
Benjamin was tweeting as usual on Tuesday, but on safer ground: retweeting the foreign secretary William Hague.