Leeds United have released a statement condemning the abuse suffered by pundit Karen Carney after the club tweeted a video appearing to mock her views.
Leeds’ official Twitter account put out the tweet following their 5-0 win against West Brom which prompted widespread abuse of Carney.
? “Promoted because of Covid”
? Won the league by 10 points
? Hi @primevideosport pic.twitter.com/Ctz18sksZA— Leeds United (@LUFC) December 29, 2020
The former footballer was speaking in her role as a pundit with Amazon and suggested that Leeds’ promotion to the Premier League was aided by the Covid-19 pandemic midway through last season.
The tweet was met with backlash from many in the footballing world including former Leeds defender Rio Ferdinand however the club’s owner Andrea Radrizzani said he took ‘responsibility’ for the post, adding that he felt Carney’s comments were ‘completely unnecessary and disrespectful.’
I take the responsibility of the Club tweet. I consider that comment completely unnecessary and disrespectful to our Club and particularly to the fantastic hard work of our players and coaches whom were understanding on the pitch for the last two championship seasons by all stats
— Andrea Radrizzani (@andrearadri) December 29, 2020
Despite the club initially doubling down, they released a statement to the media on Wednesday afternoon outlining that they condemn the abuse suffered by Carney following the tweet.
“Leeds United completely condemns any abuse received by Karen Carney on social media following last night’s Premier League game with West Bromwich Albion.
“Everyone at our club respects Karen greatly for all she has achieved in the game, as well as her work in the media and the charity work she undertakes.”
The Times had earlier reported that the club had contacted Carney and invited her to carry out a TV report from their training ground ahead of the FA Cup Third Round match with Crawley Town.
The report also outlined that the reaction stems from the fact that staff were shocked at the level of abuse suffered by Carney as a result of the tweet despite regularly being outspoken about criticism in the past.
Leeds beat West Brom 5-0 at the Hawthorns on Tuesday night to move into 11th place in the Premier League table, recording back-to-back wins for the first time since September.