Wigan Athletic owner Dave Whelan has apologised for remarks he made in a recent interview that were adjudged to be anti-Semitic.

The controversy erupted when the businessman weighed in on allegations that the Latics' newly-appointed manager Malky Mackay made a slur against Jewish football agent Phil Smith, and appeared to play down the incident.

"I think Jewish people do chase money more than everybody else. I don't think that's offensive at all," The Guardian quoted Whelan as saying.

However, following criticism from the Jewish Leadership Council, Whelan has apologised for his comments and insisted that he may have been misquoted by the broadsheet.

"I have not read what it said but I have been told what it said," he told Sky Sports News.

"Number one, I would never, ever insult a Jewish person. I have got hundreds and hundreds of Jewish friends. I would never, ever upset any Jewish person, because I hold them in the highest regard.

"If anybody takes offence at anything I have said, please accept my sincere apology. It is either a misquote or, on that day, I must have done 50 interviews."

Whelan also apologised for appearing to downplay offensive comments that Mackay allegedly made about Chinese people, insisting that his club would never insult "any nation or any person in the world".