Quiz champs John and his mum Val claim they were asked to leave due to their “winning streak” not because of their chosen team names
Quiz champs John and his mum Val claim they were asked to leave due to their “winning streak” not because of their chosen team names
A mum and son who claim they were barred from a pub quiz for “winning too much” were shocked to learn their ban was due to their ‘offensive’ team name. John Cullen, from Wallasey, regularly attends weekly quizzes in and around the city centre organised by event company, Sphinx UK.
Since September, the 30-year-old has been chancing his luck at taking home first place alongside his mum Valerie on a Monday night in Lanigan’s Irish Bar on Ranelagh Street. The civil servant told the ECHO when he last attended on Monday, November 11, he arrived a few hours before the quiz was due to start to enjoy a drink.
However he claims just over an hour later, a Lanigan’s worker approached him and his mum, a 73-year-old retired secretary, and informed them they wouldn’t be able to take part in the quiz. John, who said he has attended the quiz seven times and won on four of those occasions, claims he was told it was ‘because of their winning streak’.
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However a spokesperson for Lanigan’s has denied this claim and instead told the ECHO the mum and son were banned from the quiz due to their “derogatory and offensive” team names, including ones that made reference to Madeleine McCann and Prince Andrew.
John claims at no point were their team names ever mentioned as the reason they were being barred from playing the quiz and told the ECHO they would have “happily” changed their team name if they had been asked. He added: “I can see how people could find it offensive, but we aren’t the first team to use these names in jest in quizzes.
“We are regular quizzers who compete every week for fun. I find it outrageous and ridiculous that anyone would attempt to limit or stop someone from winning a quiz when the aim itself is to try to win.”
Andrew Carey, from the venue, told the ECHO: “John and his mother, Valerie are two very smart individuals, the problem being that every time they won a round or were the fastest team to answer the question, their team’s name would appear on the big screen in our pub and be announced over the house system by the host.
“In the end, with the number of complaints raised, we chose to ask the mother and son couple to leave the venue as they were causing offence. We have the right to admission in our own venue, and we will not tolerate such behaviour.”
Despite this, other teams have said they have also been turned away for, what they believe to be, the same reason as John and Valerie’s. Andrew denied this and added: “As far as management are aware they are the only team to be asked to leave the venue to date. I’ve never even heard of the other teams till your phone call. “
Liam Canning, from Bootle, claims he attended the quiz twice under the name of International Frustration. Both times, his team-of-five won. The 31-year-old, who now lives in Old Swan, said he was initially asked not to come every week as Lanigan’s management was reportedly aware the team were regular quizzers. Liam said this was “reasonable” and was happy to follow suit.
But when he arrived for the third time, the academic editor said: “We were told we weren’t allowed to play at all because of our high-win rate. We were just like, ‘What is happening?’. I asked for a refund on my drink and I didn’t even get that. It was just a particularly funny situation to be in.
“We were banned from there because they said it was ‘unfair to the students in the quiz’. We left and have never gone back. We’ve gone elsewhere since.”
Another quizzer, who entered solo under the name Here For The Beer, claims he was also asked not to come back. He said he attended five times and won twice on the trot. At his last win, he claims he was handed the winnings and then told “not to return to the venue out of fairness to other teams and to keep the student vibe”.
He told the ECHO: “I have never had this treatment anywhere else. I feel discriminated against for two reasons. One, and most importantly, for being unable to return just for achieving two wins – it makes me feel that for being good at something – the entire purpose of a quiz – then I am unable to continue to do so.
“Secondly, for them stating that it is a student vibe. I am in my early thirties and still very willing to join in with the overall vibe, but I feel that because I’m no longer a student, I am not welcome. This was not stated anywhere within the venue or at any point during the quiz.”
Lanigan’s group GM, Andrew Carey, claimed he had not heard of the two latter teams. Sphinx UK, the company behind the quiz told the ECHO: “The decision to remove John and Val from the event on Monday was solely down to the venue management team.
“At Sphinx, we pride ourselves on running events which are engaging for everyone regardless of ability. John and Val always have been – and continue to be – welcome at our events. We are unable to comment on any venue’s admission policy.”
When the ECHO asked Sphinx about the other two teams, the company added: “Any decision to remove people from Lanigan’s will have been made by the venue management team. Sphinx welcomes all players of any ability to play our events. We are unable to comment on individual venue’s admission policies”
