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Former England player and television expert Karen Carney deleted her Twitter account after her comments about Leeds United were ridiculed by the Premier League club’s official account and sparked a torrent of abuse online.
Carney, who won 144 games for his country, suggested that last season’s coronavirus suspension in March amid the global pandemic had benefited Leeds’s quest for promotion to the Premier League.
The 33-year-old also said Leeds “outperformed” their opponents, arguing that Marcelo Bielsa’s team “could explode at the end of the season” on their return to the English top flight for the first time after a 16-year wait. .
Leeds shared a small section of his comments on his official Twitter account to his 664,000 followers, sparking a backlash from those who warned he would invite unwarranted criticism of Carney.
A club spokesperson said Wednesday: “Leeds United fully condemns any abuse received by Karen Carney on social media after last night’s Premier League match with West Bromwich Albion.
“Everyone at our club has a lot of respect for Karen for all that she has accomplished in the game, as well as for her work in the media and the charity work she does.”
Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani added: “I am very sorry that Karen was abused on social media. I wanted to defend my club and our players from a comment that I found harsh from Karen on air. Our tweet was not offensive, it just said we won the league by 10 points.
1:05
Marcelo Bielsa praised the ‘efficiency’ in the face of the Leeds players’ goal after beating West Brom 5-0 on Tuesday
“Honestly, we did not expect such a reaction and we are sorry that she experienced that. I respect her as a person and an expert and I hope she understands that we only want to defend our club, we are a family.”
“I hope the abuse stops and we can move on and I hope Karen will be our guest on Elland Road soon. I would like to meet personally with her.”
The Women in Football network described Leeds’s tweet as “provocative and inappropriate.”
“Whether you agree with the comment or not, pointing out and ridiculing a person on an official club account is not what we are here for,” the group tweeted.
“Karen Carney is a well-informed expert. This tweet is provocative and inappropriate. It doesn’t look good right now or at any time.”
Chelsea forward Bethany England criticized Leeds for their “appalling behavior”.
“Cyberbullying an expert and opening her up to massive abuse online for doing her job and having her opinion,” she wrote on Twitter.
Carney was also supported by the American Megan Rapinoe, a two-time world champion.
“Shame. Shame. Shame. Thicken that skin. Also, don’t come for Karen Carney, she’s a national treasure,” Rapinoe wrote on Twitter.
Radrizzani defended the club for the tweet, which noted that they had won the championship by 10 points, and accused Carney of making comments “completely unnecessary and disrespectful.”
Radrizzani, responding to a tweet Tuesday night saying Leeds should be “ashamed” of their actions, wrote: “I take responsibility for the club’s tweet.”
2:58
FREE TO SEE: Highlights from Leeds’ victory at West Brom in the Premier League
Carney, who played for Birmingham, Arsenal and Chelsea in his career, had said during television coverage of the club’s 5-0 win at West Brom on Tuesday: “They outnumber everyone and give them credit. My only concern would be whether explode at the end of the season?
“We saw that in the last few seasons. In fact, I think they were promoted by Covid in terms of it giving them a little breathing space. I don’t know if they would have gotten up if they hadn’t had that break.”
Leeds won seven and drew one of their nine championship games when football resumed in June, while they had won six and drawn one of their nine league games before the lockout.
Their victory at The Hawthorns brought the club to 11th place in the Premier League, with 23 points collected from 16 games.
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