BBC Sport's chief football writer appears to call Liverpool 'absolute ****s'

BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty was forced to apologise after appearing to use a derogatory term to describe Liverpool players on social media on Wednesday night.

'Absolute ****s' on social media,' McNulty allegedly wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in response to a clip of Curtis Jones' equaliser against Fulham in the first leg of the Carabao Cup posted by Mail Sport.

McNulty subsequently revealed his account had been hacked.

'Can confidently say my account has been hacked there,' he tweeted 10 minutes after the initial post.

'Apologies and a swift change of password. Apologies to all.'

In a separate post in reply to an user who suggested his post served as a 'pep talk' to inspire Liverpool's second half comeback, McNulty replied: 'You have to ask yourself why I would actually Tweet that and use those terms.

'Been on this platform more than 14 years and I suspect you would not find a single swear word used.'

A self-confessed Everton fan, McNulty attended De La Salle Grammar School - now known as Dixons Croxteth Academy - years before Wayne Rooney and Francis Jeffers went to the same school.

He worked for the Liverpool Daily Post and the Liverpool Echo before becoming BBC Sport's chief football writer in 2000 and has since covered six World Cups for the broadcaster.

Liverpool overturned a 1-0 deficit at half-time to beat Fulham 2-1 at Anfield on Wednesday night in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.

Willian put the visitors ahead with a smart finish in the first half, before Jones and Cody Gakpo scored in three second half minutes to complete the comeback.

Jurgen Klopp, however, warned his team there was still work to do to secure a place in the final at Wembley.

'It's not over yet,' the Liverpool manager said.

'I didn't expect a result where we could book the hotel. Hopefully we will be better from the start. We couldn't do more than win the game - I'm absolutely happy.'