Paddy Power’s Latest Mockery: a Statue of David Moyes outside Anfield

After Manchester United manager David Moyes got sacked, the Irish bookmaker erected a statue of him in front of the Anfield stadium.

The online and mobile betting company is well-known for its controversial ad campaigns, but this one seems to have made football fans very angry. While Paddy Power might see it as just another humorous antic, British football supporters believe the gesture to be offensive.

It was only a week ago that leaders of the football club announced they were getting rid of the Scotsman, a mere 10 months after he was hand-picked by Sir Alex Ferguson to replace him. Now Paddy Power has decided to “mark” the event by putting up a statue with the following inscription at the base: “David Moyes. For services to Liverpool Football Club.”

Kings of controversy

This is not the first time when the owners of the online sportsbook in Ireland managed to cause controversy among soccer fans. In 2012, a video ad showing Jesus working miracles to eliminate corruption from Italian football was banned in the country.

More of the company’s controversial stunts include offering odds on touchy topics, such as the assassination of Barack Obama, the outcome of Oscar Pistorious’s murder trial or the first species to go extinct after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.