Tony Fernandes, the former owner of QPR, provoked outrage after posting a ‘inappropriate’ photo of himself enjoying a topless massage while attending a meeting.
The AirAsia founder uploaded the half-naked photo on LinkedIn and said, ‘Was a tough week and Veranita Yosephine recommended a massage,’ which has since been deleted.
‘Gotta love Indonesia and AirAsia culture that I can have a massage and a management meeting.’
AirAsia’s CEO is Veranita Yosephine.
‘We are making big progress and I have now finalised Capital A structure,’ he added.
‘Exciting days ahead. Proud of what we have built and never have lost sight of the finish,’ Fernandes said in the post.
The photo depicted him shirtless with a masked masseuse massaging his shoulders as he attended a virtual meeting.
But after attracting widespread criticism on social media, it appears the entrepreneur had a change of heart and deleted the incriminating photo.
Known as Malaysia’s answer to Richard Branson, Fernandes, 59, made his name after buying budget airline AirAsia from the Malaysian government for less than a dollar in 2001, transforming them into the region’s most prominent budget airline.
In 2011 Fernandes bought QPR following their promotion to the Premier League, but struggled to keep the club afloat after big transfer fees and a huge wage bill straddled the club with debt.
He finally left the club in July after selling the last of his shares, having stepped down as chairman six years ago.
Fernandes is also the founder of former F1 team Caterham, which began racing in 2010 as Lotus before the Malaysian sold the company in 2014.
