Ryan Reynolds criticised by environmental charity as it is revealed ‘Wrexham chartered 37-MINUTE flight’ just four days before actor’s United Nations pledge
- An environmental campaign group revealed Wrexham took a flight to Wycombe
- The side co-owned by Reynolds beat their promotion-rivals 1-0 at Adams Park
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Ryan Reynolds has been called out by environmentalists after chartering a 37-minute flight for the Wrexham squad for their League One crunch match with Wycombe Wanderers.
The Welsh side narrowly beat their promotion-rivals Wycombe 1-0 at Adams Park on March 15 as they hunt for a third successive promotion.
It has been revealed by campaign group Fossil Free Football that Wrexham opted to board a short-haul flight down to Buckinghamshire, rather than take a coach.
The Blue Islands private jet is believed to have flown from Jersey to Hawarden Airport to pick up the League One promotion hopefuls before flying them roughly 150 miles south to Oxford Airport.
Following the all-important victory, the Wrexham players seemingly stayed overnight before the plane – which had flown back to its base in the Channel Islands before returning – flew the team back up to north Wales.
Four days following the trip, Reynolds – who has been part-responsible for Wrexham’s meteoric rise alongside Rob McElhenney – and Wrexham club officials travelled to New York to show their commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Ryan Reynolds (right)and Rob McElhenney (left) have been called out for chartering a short-haul flight for Wrexham for the team’s trip to Wycombe Wanderers in League One
The club opted to take a 37-minute flight rather than take the coach to play Wycombe
The jet (stock image) is believed to have had to flown from Jersey to even pick them up
Four days after the game Reynolds and Wrexham club officals travelled to New York to show their commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The campaign has 17 goals which are ‘a blueprint for a better world’, and on the UN website, it states that they aim to achieve ‘Cleaner air. Safer cities. Equality. Better jobs.’
In a LinkedIn post, Wrexham wrote: ‘ Wrexham AFC is a club committed to making a difference both on and off the pitch. That’s why we’ve teamed up with the United Nations with the Football for the Goals initiative to advance the #GlobalGoals.
‘We invite our fans and the entire global football community to speak up and take action with us through the #Actnow campaign. Let’s create a better world—together.’
The post came less than a week after the short-haul flight to Wycombe in which the jet carrying the team notched up 1,155 miles in just over five hours of flight time, including its trips to and from Jersey without the Wrexham squad inside of it.
In total, by flying the Welsh club only saved an hour and a half – compared to if they took the coach – due to the travel time from Oxford Airport to Adams Park.
Fossil Free Football, who discovered the information of Wrexham’s flight, have made a statement to The Mirror regarding the damage such a trip can cause to the environment.
‘Football at all levels is threatened by increased rainfall and flooding directly linked to the burning of fossil fuels,’ said Peter Crisp from Fossil Free Football.
‘So there just can’t be room in the sport for short-haul, ultra polluting and totally avoidable flights.
‘If fans can travel a few hours to a match by coach or train, then so can teams like Wrexham, especially when they are also talking about positive impact and sustainability at the United Nations.’
According to the Mirror, experts believe that short-haul flights do 25 to 30 times more damage to the environment than journeys by coach.
