‘One hell of a capsize’: The world’s sporting stars react to the news that Great Britain would be leaving the European Union

SO, there it is, it's official, Great Britain is no longer a member of the European Union.

In a shock twist, the Leave campaign made a late dart across the finish line as the whole nation holds its collective breath to see just what life as a truly independent nation plays out.

But how did the world of sport react to such a massive moment in British history?

SunSport has picked out some of the top tweets from the planet's biggest sporting names.

Ben Ainslie got the ball rolling using a host of sailing terms in a scathing view of the whole shambles, before adding we needed to pull together as a nation.

He said: "Well, that was one hell of a capsize! Time to right the boat, pull together and get going again."

Meanwhile Gary Lineker was simply adamant it was time to unite and battle through what could be an uncertain time.

Ahead of the official result, the former England footballer said: "It's not a time for triumphalism. Not a time for division.

"Not a time for hatred. It's a time for change. A time for calm. A time in history."

However, in the blinding light of day, Lineker voiced his disgust at the decision, saying: "Feel ashamed of my generation. We've let down our children and their children."

Former Liverpool defender on the other was unsurprisingly not so calm, in a powerful dig at Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Co following the result.

He wrote: "A vote for Farage, Boris & a recession well done to the over 50's for thinking of the future!"

And West Ham chairman David Sullivan also fears for the nation - and his club's own pulling power - following the 'Brexit'.

He said: “If sterling falls too much it impacts on our buying power and ability to pay wages as players want it fixed in euros.

"Even now we get hurt as we owe quite a bit in euros on players we have bought bought on the ‘drip’, every club with EEC players will be in the same boat.”

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan also had his say, focusing more on the embarrassing nature of both sides' smear campaigns.

Vaughan tweeted: "Only time will tell whether it's the right decision...

"One thing for sure is The lies of both campaigns have been embarrassing!"

Vaughan's former England team-mate Ian Bell meanwhile simply tweeted a gif, suggesting he wasn't entirely happy with the move.

SunSport columnist Barry Hearn was quick to show the other side of the coin however, calling these 'happy days'.

Hearn wrote: "We have our country back. Bound to be a few knee jerk reactions so let's keep calm. Lots of work to do. #happydays"

Former England rugby legend Brian Moore on the other hand was far from happy, taking a dig at David Cameron for allowing things to come to this.

He said: "Just a quick round of applause - you've played a blinder DC."

However, another England man James Haskell vented his frustration after stocks and sterling took a nosedive following the referendum result.

Haskell did try to boost the mood of the masses moments later though, tweeting a picture of a cat, before tweeting to say its time to pull ourselves together and move on.

Finally, in case it's all been just to much for you to bear, take a leaf out of Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy's book and ask for a 'mulligan'.

Mac wrote: "With #Brexit and the way the US presidential race is going.... Can we take a mulligan on 2016?"

So there you have it, the EU Referendum, according to the world of sport.