Tottenham have apologised after a “wholly unacceptable” question asking whether “a woman’s place is in the home” found its way into a survey sent to fans in the United States.

Posts on social media emerged from Spurs supporters in the US revealing they had received a club email on Tuesday with the subject heading: “Calling all US Spurs fans: tell us what you think.”

A screen-grab of the email, complete with a club crest at the top, said: “We have an ongoing commitment to learn more about the specific requirements of our loyal fans and everyone who interacts with the club. Therefore, we’re seeking your help to increase our understanding of what you think about Spurs and football/sport in general.”

Hey, @SpursOfficial, a few of the questions in this survey you just sent out are...unforgivable. #coys pic.twitter.com/VcewE7mJT9 — Jeff Maysh (@jeffmaysh) March 13, 2018

Fans were then invited to complete a survey, which the Premier League club later confirmed had been compiled by a third party. It had the wording: “For each of the following statements please indicate how much you agree or disagree ...”

One of the statements presented said: “A woman’s place is in the home.” Below were the options “Definitely agree”, “Tend to agree”, “Neither agree nor disagree”, “Tend to disagree” and “Definitely disagree”.

Several US-based Spurs supporters said they had received the same question while completing the survey.

In a club statement issued late on Tuesday, Tottenham confirmed the question had been removed once the “regrettable oversight” was discovered. “The survey questions were compiled by a third party on behalf of the club. The inclusion of this question in a club survey was wholly unacceptable and a regrettable oversight,” the statement said. “It has been immediately removed from the survey for any other fans now looking to fill this out. We sincerely apologise to anyone offended by its initial inclusion.”

The third party is understood to be Kantar Media. Club sources told PA they believe it to have been a human error, with Kantar Media using the question as part of a surveying technique. However, Tottenham do not accept this approach. Kantar Media has been contacted for comment.