Ladbrokes has apologised to Burnley after tweeting an offensive emoji aimed at players Chris Wood and Charlie Taylor – a month after being unveiled as the club’s “official UK betting partner”.

Ladbrokes, which also sponsors the Cricket Field Stand at Turf Moor, sent the message in the wake of Burnley’s defeat against Leeds United in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

The former Leeds player Wood scored a late equaliser as his side twice came back from a goal down, only to lose 5-3 on penalties after extra-time.

Following the game, the Ladbrokes account addressed a tweet to Wood and Taylor – who also moved to Burnley from Leeds in the summer – followed by an image of a raised middle finger and the words: “Yours sincerely, Leeds fans #LUFC.”

After being contacted for an explanation by Burnley, Ladbrokes issued a statement saying: “These were very poorly conceived tweets which we have since deleted. It was only intended to be a bit of fun but failed completely in that regard, and we have apologised to Burnley FC and would like to sincerely apologise to any fans of the club that took offence.”

Speaking after the defeat the Burnley manager, Sean Dyche, said he was disappointed to hear Wood and Taylor being targeted by their former fans. He said: “It’s a strange business, football. Twenty-odd million they’ve made for a club [in transfer fees] and they get slaughtered.

“I don’t know any more how fans react to players, ex-players, all that stuff, but that’s football now. Those two have been fantastic servants to Leeds, if I’m honest. But Woody has done fantastically, walking on to our pitch and scoring, and again in the shootout.”

The Ladbrokes row came two days after the rival firm Paddy Power apologised for offering odds on the late Ugo Ehiogu taking charge of Birmingham City.