Dunkin' Donuts Sorry For Liverpool Badge Gaffe

Dunkin' Donuts has apologised to Liverpool fans after replacing the Hillsborough eternal flames on the club's crest with coffee cups as part of a Twitter campaign.

One of the club's official sponsors, the US doughnut company asked its followers to send them alternatives to the club's crest.

The company posted its own version, with what looked like coffee cups in place of the Hillsborough eternal flames.

Liverpool added the flames to the club badge in memory of the 96 fans that were killed in the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy.

In Dunkin' Donuts' version, the Shankly gates were replaced with the firm's slogan "America runs on Dunkin" and a Dunkin Donuts logo was at the heart of the crest in place of the usual Liverbird figure.

The tweet containing the picture, which has since been removed, read: "Love the LFC crest? Tweet us what you'd want on your personal crest and we might surprise you with your own!"

The post left many fans outraged.

Kop magazine, Liverpool's unofficial fanzine, tweeted: "Do you wanna tell @DunkinDonuts how bad replacing the eternal flame with coffee is or should we? #LFC".

The company later admitted it had made a mistake.

A spokesperson said: "We apologise for any insensitivity regarding our tweet supporting an LFC-themed promotion featuring the LFC Crest.

"As a proud partner of LFC, we did not intend any offence, particularly to the club's supporters.

"We have removed the tweet and halted the campaign immediately."