Twitter has apologized after a since deleted post from its official account appeared to brutally mockManchester United defenderPhil Jones .- "Name a better footballer than Phil Jones," the company tweeted from its @TwitterUK account on Tuesday.
- Twitter apologized to Jones, but says the post was designed to test out a new feature which allows users to limit who can comment on posts, according to Sportsmail.
- "It was not our intention to cause upset," a spokesperson said.
Twitter has apologized after a since deleted post from its official account appeared to brutally mock a Premier League footballer.
On Tuesday, the company tweeted from its @TwitterUK account: "Name a better footballer than Phil Jones."
Jones, who plays as a defender for Manchester United, has become a target of ridicule on social media in recent years for both his performances on the pitch and the facial expressions he makes whilst playing.
According to Sportsmail, United complained about the post and Twitter subsequently apologized to both club and player, though the company said the tweet was designed to test out a new feature which allows users to limit who can comment on posts.
"Our aim was to showcase our new product feature, conversation controls, which allows you to select who can reply to a Tweet," a Twitter spokesperson said.
"It was not our intention to cause upset and once we realised our mistake, we immediately deleted the Tweet."
Sam Wallace of The Telegraph said the tweet directed at Jones was "bullying" and labelled it as "brutal and unfair."
Jones joined Manchester United in 2011 from Blackburn Rovers, and has since made over 200 appearances for the club, winning the Premier League title and the FA Cup.
The 28-year-old however has not played for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side since the season resumed in June, and was left out of the squad for the remainder United's Europa League fixtures.
United play Sevilla in the semifinals of the competition on Sunday August 16.
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