Juventus were forced into issuing an apology after their women's team account tweeted a picture containing a racist gesture on Thursday.
The tweet, which was published at 2115 local time (1915 GMT) and removed 26 minutes later, pictured one of their players with a training cone on their head, using their fingers to narrow their eyes and accompanying emojis.
The post received thousands of negative responses before the club removed it.
"We sincerely apologise that our tweet, which was not meant to cause controversy or have any racial undertones, may have offended anyone," a club statement read.
"Juventus has always been against racism and discrimination."
Juventus have won the last four women's Serie A titles, lifting the league every year since their founding in 2017 when they took over the dissolved Cuneo Calcio's sporting licence.
(Reporting by Joseph Walker; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
