Mirror Apologise After Comments About Wallasey Toddler
28 December 2013, 09:25 | Updated: 28 December 2013, 09:37
George Johnson, 3, was a mascot at the Everton game on Boxing Day
George has a rare motility condition which means he can't eat or drink by himself, being fed via a tube.
The system that feeds George sits in a backpack which he was wearing on Boxing Day when he was a mascot for the Sunderland team playing against Everton.
During Match of the Day, the Mirror Football tweeted: "A mascot with a backpack on. What is happening to the game we love?" This was then followed by the hashtags #AgainstModernMascots #AgainstModerBackpacks
'Team George', the group of family and friends working to raise money to help George, say the tweets we 'Heartbreaking'.
The Mirror Football later tweeted:
"Dear @_TeamGeorge We wish to make a full and public apology for the twitter comment last night"
"Clearly we we're not aware of the situation, and would never intend to offend a brave young man fighting an illness"
"we are now dealing with a member of the family about this privately"