Leeds United have “condemned” the abuse suffered by specialist Karen Carney after the club’s official Twitter account criticized her for her work.
Speaking on Amazon Prime ahead of Leeds’ 5-0 win over West Brom, the England centurion suggested Marcelo Bielsa’s side had benefited from the coronavirus-imposed break during their winning promotion campaign because it prevented the exhaustion they had apparently suffered from the previous season.
Leeds reposted the video, along with a mocking caption, sparking a wave of sexist criticism and abuse of Carney.
? “Promoted thanks to Covid”
? Won the league by 10 points
? Hi @primevideosport pic.twitter.com/Ctz18sksZA– Leeds United (@LUFC) December 29, 2020
Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani defended the tweet, but the club have since issued a statement condemning the subsequent abuse Carney suffered.
“Leeds United fully condemns any abuse suffered by Karen Carney on social media following last night’s Premier League game with West Bromwich Albion,” the statement read [via the Times].
“Everyone at our club greatly respects Karen for all she has accomplished in the game, as well as for her media work and the charitable work she does.
Despite condemnation of the tweet, the club have yet to delete it. It has been retweeted over 11,000 times and received over 5,000 comments.
“I take responsibility for the club’s tweet,” owner Radrizzani wrote on Tuesday evening. “I consider this comment to be totally unnecessary and disrespectful to our club and in particular to the fantastic hard work of our players and coaches who have been understanding on the pitch for the last two league seasons by all statistics.”
The Tweet was criticized by many players in the sports media industry, including former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand and the Women in Football group. However, Leeds midfielder Mateusz Klich and former Leeds defender Ben White both expressed dismay at Carney’s comments via some form of emoji.
Athletic report that Leeds have contacted Carney and invited her to the club’s training ground to report for BBC Sport ahead of their FA Cup third round clash with Crawley Town.
