Ladbrokes Offer Burnley Apology Over Offensive Tweet Aimed at Former Leeds Duo
Burnley have been offered an apology by betting firm Ladbrokes for an offensive tweet aimed at Chris Wood and Charlie Taylor following their Carabao Cup exit to Leeds United.
The company had taken to Twitter on behalf of Leeds fans to post a message, containing a middle finger gesture emoji, aimed at the ex-Whites pair after Leeds secured a penalty shootout victory over Burnley at Turf Moor on Tuesday.
Burnley condemned Ladbrokes' post and demanded an explanation from them - Ladbrokes being a sponsorship partner of the Clarets no less - and an apologetic statement was issued on Wednesday (via BBC Sport) as Ladbrokes sought to repair their relationship with Sean Dyche's men.
The statement read: "They were very poorly conceived tweets which we have since deleted.
"It was only intended to be a bit of fun but failed completely in that regard, and we have apologised to Burnley FC and would like to sincerely apologise to any fans of the club that took offence."
Wood and Taylor featured against their former club in Lancashire, with the former netting an 89th-minute spot kick to take the match to extra-time with the scores level at 2-2.
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The striker also netted from 12 yards in the ensuing penalty shootout, but Burnley crashed out at the third round stage following Leeds' 7-5 victory as sudden death was played out.
The tweet in queston has since been deleted by Ladbrokes and, speaking after the loss, Burnley boss Dyche admitted that it was crazy for Leeds fans to be calling Wood and Taylor all the names under the Sun due to the amount of cash that the duo brought in to Elland Road as a result of their sales.
He said: "It's a strange business, football. 20-odd million they've made for a club (in transfer fees) and they get slaughtered. I don't know any more how fans react to players, ex-players, all that stuff, but that's football now.
"Those two have been fantastic servants to Leeds, if I'm honest. But Woody has done fantastically, walking on to our pitch and scoring, and again in the shootout."
