Jersey Reds criticised for holding open-top bus tour during Liberation Day ceremony

'Inspired' or 'inappropriate'?: the decision to coincide the Jersey Reds' victory tour with the Liberation Day ceremony has divided opinion. Credit: ITV Channel

An open-top bus tour of St Helier to celebrate the Jersey Reds' recent RFU Championship win has been met with a mixed response from islanders, with some calling the decision to coincide it with the island's Liberation Day ceremony "disappointing".

Among those criticising the timing is St John Constable Andy Jehan. He said while the Reds' achievement should be celebrated, today "should be and must be about those who survived" the German Occupation.

He added: "Let's celebrate all sport[s] on a different day."

Others commenting on social media supported the Constable, saying it was a "bad call" and "they wouldn't do it on Remembrance Sunday, so why today?"

But many islanders welcomed the addition to the traditional Liberation Day events, saying it created an "amazing atmosphere" and "brought two victories together".

Former politician, Lindsay Ash, said it was "a very good parade despite the weather" and called it an "inspired touch to put the Jersey Reds on an open-top bus to finish".

He described it as going from the island's "desperate past to the triumphant present".

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