Dunkin' Donuts just replaced Liverpool's Hillsborough memorial with milkshakes and people are not happy
The coffee and doughnut retailer is one of Liverpool's official sponsors, but seemingly failed to recognise the importance of the football club's flame symbol on its crest: The two, pictured on each side of the central shield, signify the tragic loss of 96 fans who died in a stadium crush at a match in Sheffield in 1989.
In Dunkin' Donut crest, the company also changed the football club name to "DD," replaced the top fencing with doughnuts and a cup of coffee, and swapped the fans' song, "You'll Never Walk Alone," with, "America Runs On Dunkin'." Many feel the move was in bad taste.
Here's a screengrab of the tweet:
Dunkin Donuts has since deleted the image from its Twitter feed and apologised for the mistake. In a statement provided to the Liverpool Echo, the company said:
We apologise for any insensitivity regarding our tweet supporting an LFC-themed promotion featuring the LFC Crest.As a proud partner of LFC, we did not intend any offence, particularly to the Club's supporters. We have removed the tweet and halted the campaign immediately.
But not before lots of Liverpool fans and others commented on the situation. They called it "insensitive," among other things.
Liverpool and Dunkin' Donuts have been in business since January 2014. The club signed a multi-million pound deal with the doughnut giants that saw the company become the "official coffee, tea, and bakery provider," the Echo adds.