Everton sponsor SportPesa has issued an apology to the club's fans after congratulating Arsenal on their victory at Goodison Park.

Everton supporters watched their side lose 5-2 at home on Sunday and then had to endure a bizarre tweet from their own sponsor, which seemed to be revelling in the result.

The tweet read: "Well in Gunners! A superb gift by the players for the birthday gaffer! #MadeOfWinners."

The bookmaker has now apologised, saying it is "deeply sorry for any offence caused" and that "internal policies and processes" would be revised.

A statement read: "The sentiment behind the tweet is not reflective of SportPesa or our staff. When we signed our partnership with Everton Football Club it was one of the proudest moments in our history. Our relationship with Evertonians and the people of Merseyside means so much to us."

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Image:
@SportPesa/Twitter)

SportPesa, which describes itself as “Africa’s leading gambling platform”, signed their deal with Everton earlier this year.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman, meanwhile, has lost his job since Sunday's defeat.

The board showed their trust in Koeman over the summer by allowing him to bring in several big names including Gylfi Sigurdsson, Wayne Rooney and Michael Keane.

But the Blues have only won two of their last ten games and are in the bottom three after the humiliating defeat.

A club statement read: "Chairman Bill Kenwright, the board of directors and majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri would all like to express their gratitude to Ronald for the service he has given to the club over the past 16 months and for guiding the club to seventh place in last season's Premier League campaign."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche is the current favourite to take over from Koeman while David Unsworth and former Toffees coach David Moyes are also in the frame.

Ronald Koeman has been sacked since the defeat (
Image:
AFP)

Full statement from SportPesa:

To the fans of Everton Football Club.

We're not going to hide behind excuses. We have to be honest in admitting that the tweet you saw yesterday should never have gone out and we are deeply sorry for any offence caused. We have reviewed and will revise our internal policies and processes, especially in relation to our partner clubs, to ensure that this never happens again. We will up our game.

The sentiment behind the tweet is not reflective of SportPesa or our staff. When we signed our partnership with Everton Football Club it was one of the proudest moments in our history. Our relationship with Evertonians and the people of Merseyside means so much to us.

Our commitment to Everton Football Club and the city of Liverpool continues. Our new team at the Royal Liver Building will grow. We'll continue to work with local causes such as Everton in the Community and other local charities that do so much good work in the Merseyside area. We'll do everything in our power to build strong and lasting relationship with Everton fans, who we are proud to associate ourselves with.

We acknowledge a mistake was made, we have read your messages on social media and we understand the reaction.

We are truly very sorry.