Mum and son kicked out of pub quiz due to 'derogatory and offensive' team names

A mother and son duo from Wallasey, who believed they were banned from a pub quiz for "winning too much", were stunned to discover their exclusion was due to their 'offensive' team name. John Cullen, a 30 year old civil servant, and his mother Valerie, a 73 year old retired secretary, regularly attended weekly quizzes in the city centre organised by Sphinx UK.

They frequented Lanigan's Irish Bar on Ranelagh Street every Monday night since September, often securing first place. However, during their last visit on Monday, November 11, they were informed by a staff member that they could no longer participate in the quiz.

John, who had won four out of the seven quizzes he attended, initially thought it was due to their winning streak. However, a spokesperson for Lanigan's refuted this claim, stating to the ECHO that the pair were barred due to their "derogatory and offensive" team names, which included references to Madeleine McCann and Prince Andrew.

John is adamant that at no stage were he and his quiz team specifically told that their team names were the issue when they were prevented from taking part in the pub quiz. He said that they would have willingly changed their name if such a request had been made, stating: "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.", reports the Liverpool Echo.

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Andrew Carey, from the venue, told the ECHO: "John and his mother, Valerie are two very