Ted Lasso's subtle jab at the Tories' small boat plan: 'Britain is shut down'

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The TV comedy series Ted Lasso appears to have taken aim at the government's "evil" immigration policy.

In scenes remarkably similar to those of Gary Lineker on Twitter following comments directed by Suella Braverman, the latest episode sees a prominent footballer clash with a fictional Secretary of State, Brinda Barot, over a group of migrants crossing the English Channel.

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A boat runs aground near Portsmouth Harbor carrying dozens of refugees, with Ms Barot telling them to 'go home'.

The episode, believed to have been written around this time last year when Priti Patel was Home Secretary, sees Ms Barot address the nation saying: 'To anyone trying to enter our country illegally, I say this. Go home. Britain is closed."

Sam Obisanya, who plays for AFC Richmond on which the series is based, took to Twitter to ask Ms Barot to "reconsider".

The right-winger, played by Toheeb Jimoh, writes: "Deeply disturbed by the situation in Portsmouth Harbour, I hope Brinda Barot reconsiders her position and helps make Britain better than that."

< p>But Ms Barot replies: "Footballers should leave politics to us and shut up and dribble."

His restaurant, Ola's, is later vandalized, with the phrase "shut up and dribble" smudged on the wall.

Mr. Obisanya responds to the row saying, "The world is full of mean people doing s****y things, but I can't handle that right now because I have to go kick a small ball. "

When she was Home Secretary, Ms Patel found herself embroiled in a row with England player Tyrone Mings ahead of the European Championships. The Aston Villa star has accused Ms Patel of 'stoking the fire' of racial slurs directed at the England team.

She said: "I am disgusted that the England players who have given so much for our country this summer have been subjected to despicable racist abuse on social media.

"This has no place in our country and I support the police in holding those accountable responsible."

Mr Mings replied, "You're not going to fan the fire at the start of the tournament by calling our anti-racism message a 'political gesture' and then pretending to be disgusted when the thing even against which we are campaigning is happening."

< p>Tory MP Andrew Rosindell urged the defender to "focus on football,...