Ladbrokes apologise to Burnley after social media gaffe

Ladbrokes have apologised to Burnley for a message posted on social media which contained a rude gesture towards the club’s players Chris Wood and Charlie Taylor.

Wood and Taylor predictably came in for abuse from some fans of their former club Leeds when the sides met in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

But after Leeds won a penalty shootout 5-3 to advance to the last 16, the pair were also the target of “very poorly conceived tweets” from Ladbrokes, even though the bookmakers are Burnley’s official UK betting partner and sponsor the Cricket Field Stand at Turf Moor.

One message posted on the official Twitter account of Ladbrokes was addressed to Wood and Taylor, followed by an image of a raised middle finger and the words: “Yours sincerely, Leeds fans #LUFC.”

In a statement, Ladbrokes said: “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.”

Burnley boss Sean Dyche had been disappointed to hear Wood and Taylor “get slaughtered” by Leeds fans after their switch from Elland Road in the summer.

Wood scored twice from the penalty spot after coming off the bench, once in normal time to help force a 2-2 draw and again in the penalty shootout.

“It’s a strange business, football,” Dyche said. “Twenty-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.”