Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani has told Karen Carney he is sorry that she received abuse on social media and invited her to be a guest at Elland Road following this week's Twitter controversy.
Former England international Carney was the subject of online abuse after the club tweeted out a clip of her post-match comments following the Whites' 5-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday evening.
Speaking on Amazon Prime Carney suggested that last season's Covid-19 break may have helped Leeds avoid burning out and aided their promotion-winning campaign, comments the club questioned on social media.
Radrizzani quickly took responsibility for the tweet on Tuesday evening, while the club said that it 'completely condemns' any abuse she suffered on Wednesday afternoon.
The Italian then went on talkSPORT on Wednesday evening to apologies for any abuse Carney sufffered.
“I’m very sorry Karen was abused on social media," he said.
“I wanted to defend my club and our players from a comment, which I felt was harsh from Karen on air.
“Our tweet wasn’t offensive - simply stating that we won the league by 10 points.
“We honestly didn’t expect such a reaction and we are sorry she experienced that.
“I respect her as a person and a pundit and I hope she understands that we just want to defend our club, we are a family.
“I hope the abuse stops and we can move forward and I hope Karen will be our guest at Elland Road soon - I’d like to meet personally with her.”
Carney's comments centred around Leeds' energetic playing style and came after she praised the team's emphatic 5-0 win at West Brom.
"They outrun everyone and credit to them," she said on Amazon Prime.
"My only concern would be is will they blow up at the end of the season? We saw that the last couple of seasons.
"I actually think they got promoted because of Covid in terms of it gave them a bit of respite. I don't know if they would have got up if they didn't have that break."
Leeds have made a habit this season of literally answering their critics on social media, highlighting statements made by Gabby Agbonlahor on Bielsa being a 'myth' and Tim Sherwood's claim the Whites had 'blown a gasket' after the emphatic wins over Aston Villa and Newcastle United respectively.
A spokesperson for the club said on Wednesday: "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."
