Manchester United issue 'unreserved apology' after Swastika-style logo appears on club email

The logo was accompanied by the heading 'New Order' which also has connotations of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime

Manchester United have apologised for this logo that was sent out in a club email (United Uncovered)

Manchester United have issued an unreserved apology after an email sent out by the club published a Swastika-style club logo, with their Head of Media David Sternberg admitting that an investigation is underway.

The logo appeared on the United Uncovered email along with the heading of ‘New Order’ – a term that was used by Adolf Hitler in his call for a European New Order in 1941 – with the logos accompanied by pictures of the club’s younger players,

Adnan Januzaj, David De Gea and Danny Welbeck were some of those to appear on the email, which prompted outrage resulting in fans demanding to know who was responsible for allowing such an image to go out in the public domain.

Sternberg took to Twitter to respond to the complaints, saying: "The creative is completely inappropriate; we apologise unreservedly and are taking appropriate internal action."

He added "That's what is being investigated - obviously it shouldn't have" when supporters demanded to know more on why the image was allowed to go out.

United officials are said to be outraged and astounded by the incident, with action having already been taken to prevent any further distribution of the logo.

Former United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich remains the highest profile player to be at the centre of a Nazism row, after he was fined £1,000 in 1996 when he performed a Nazi salute in front of the Tottenham fans during a Premier League match with Aston Villa.

With a sizeable Jewish following as well as connections between Judaism and the north-London club, Spurs have seen themselves at the centre of another race-related furore after the word ‘Yid’ was banned from being used by any fans at their matches.

The derogatory term has been adopted by their fans as a defence mechanism, with chants of ‘Yiddos’ or ‘Come on you Yids’ being regularly heard at White Hart Lane. One fan was warned and another arrested earlier this month after refusing to cease the chants when asked to by the Metropolitan Police.