Community managers working for football clubs have to be careful when trying to make jokes about other team's players, because they might be forced to issue an apology.
Such was the case of Bayer Leverkusen's CM, who tried to make fun of Petr Cech's ball-handling skills during the game between Arsenal and Manchester City. The German side's accounts mocked Cech mainly because the Czech goalie was chosen over former Leverkusen shot-stopper Bernd Leno, and they believed that a joke would go unnoticed.
We might know a guy...
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) August 12, 2018
Then, Leverkusen's CM took it a step further by posting a video of Bernd Leno playing the ball out from the back without any problem.
In case you all were wondering how to play out of the back... pic.twitter.com/LZkxznsGPs
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) August 12, 2018
As you could have expected, Petr Cech didn't enjoy being mocked and tweeted against the German side, questioning their values and true sportsmanship.
.@Arsenal we share important values which make us a big club not only on the football side . Fair competition, professionalism and sportsmanship are the biggest ones you teach young footballers and it's sad to see when other clubs don't share the same values. .@bayer04_en
— Petr Cech (@PetrCech) August 13, 2018
In the end, Bayer Leverkusen's account replied, offering an apology to the Czech goalkeeper.
Hi Petr. It seems our joke about wanting to see Leno, our former player, in action has been taken a bit more harshly/personally than intended. It was only a bit of banter. We're all for the values you've stated and wish you and your big club all the best. Nice 1v1 save on Aguero!
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) August 13, 2018