Online gambling operator scores an own goal

Apparently an over-zealous member of the Betway Twitter team was responsible for an own goal this week when a tweet criticised professional football player Michail Antonio (26) – a right-back on the West Ham team, which Betway sponsors.

The embarrassing incident resulted in a fast apology from the betting company and an explanation that it has “a team of passionate writers who provide impartial opinion across all sports, but acknowledge this particular tweet was inappropriate in light of the company’s relationship with West Ham”.

The tweet that caused all the trouble said: “Antonio has been an accident waiting to happen in defence. West Ham fans will hope that’s the end of the experiment.”

Antonio gave away a penalty as his team opened its 2016-17 Premier League campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday evening.

Eden Hazard converted the spot-kick before a James Collins equaliser was followed by an 89th minute winner from Diego Costa.

West Ham and Betway reportedly held a conference call on Tuesday to discuss the since-deleted social media post.