Carlisle City say they have received a "graciously-worded" apology from the Carlisle United youth players who posted disrespectful comments about them on social media.

The Northern League club say they received the apology last night and shared it with their players.

It follows United's decision to suspend three under-18 players over comments on Snapchat where they described Cumberland Cup opponents City as a "team of 50-year-olds".

The teenagers were criticised by City players and management and United manager Paul Simpson yesterday said they had "crossed a line".

City have now issued a statement saying the players had been in touch to express their regret over the incident.

"We can report that an apology was received by us last night from the Carlisle United youth players involved in this week’s social media posting, ahead of Tuesday’s Cumberland Cup tie," the statement said.

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"The apology was graciously worded and has been shared with all of our players, and brings the matter to a close as far as our club is concerned.

"We hope that the players involved have learned a valuable lesson and that they can now proceed with building successful football careers."

City won Tuesday's tie 2-1 against a United side featuring a number of professionals as well as some of their top youth players.

READ MORE: Paul Simpson backs Carlisle United's decision to suspend teenage players over social media comments