Ipswich Town's chairman and chief executive has said he wants to "unreservedly apologise" for the handling of Nigel Farage's visit to the Championship side's stadium.
Mark Ashton said mistakes had been made that caused "harm and distress" to staff and parts of the fanbase and local community.
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Reform leader Farage was photographed and filmed during a visit to Portman Road on Monday, posing with personalised shirts and pretending to sign a contract.
The BBC understands he was invited to a meeting by a club representative.
Ipswich initially denied knowledge of the Clacton MP's visit, but later said it was apolitical and did not "support or endorse any individual party".
The club has declined to answer any of the BBC's questions about the visit, including about who arranged it and whether it knew Farage would be using Ipswich branding to promote Reform.
The incident prompted widespread backlash on social media, with many calling for more clarity on the nature of Farage's presence.
The Clacton MP has played down the controversy surrounding the visit, but did tell the BBC that he had been invited [Reform]In an in-house interview published by the Tractor Boys, Ashton said: "The staff are hurting, elements of the fanbase are hurting, and so are elements of our local community – and that upsets me immensely.
"For that, I want to unreservedly apologise and say I'm sorry."
Ashton presided over back-to-back promotions before Ipswich were relegated from the Premier League in 2025.
Messages seen by the BBC suggested club consultant James Pearce reached out to Farage to arrange a meeting, although Pearce later said in response that Ashton was not aware of the approach.
Ashton said lessons would be learned about how Farage's visit was handled, but insisted there were a "lot of mistruths out there" about how it unfolded.
"Mistakes have been made which have caused harm and distress to parts of our local community," Ashton continued.
The chairman admitted the trust of some fans may have been "dented" by what happened and said he felt the "hurt and pain" too.
Some fans have shared concerns that Farage being at Portman Road risked dividing fans during the team's end-of-season push for promotion.
Ashton said: "There's lots to fight for on and off the pitch as we move forward, and I feel that we've always been better when we do that as one."
In response to the growing scandal over his visit, Farage said he "received an invitation from Ipswich, who knew I was in the area".
In a 30-second clip posted by Reform, he can be seen holding a "Farage 10" shirt and sitting in the home dressing room, with at least five "Farage 10" shirts hanging behind him.
The MP is also videoed signing the back of an Ipswich Town home shirt, appearing to begin the message with "To Mark".
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