Premier League: Bookmaker apologises after listing dead footballer as potential Birmingham City manager

London: A betting firm has apologised after it gave customers the option of betting on a dead former footballer becoming the next manager of Birmingham City. Paddy Power briefly advertised odds of 66/1 on ex-Aston Villa and England defender Ugo Ehiogu taking charge of rivals Birmingham, following the sacking of manager Harry Redknapp. [caption id=“attachment_4056729” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Fans during a minute’s applause in memory of former player Ugo Ehiogu during the FA Cup semi-final between Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea. Reuters[/caption] Ehiogu died at the age of 44 after suffering a cardiac arrest on April 20 at Tottenham’s training ground, where he worked as a coach with their under-23 side. Ehiogu’s inclusion provoked anger on social media. “This was a genuine error,” Paddy Power said in a statement. “A trader re-used an old market as a template for this one, and didn’t notice that Mr Ehiogu was included. “Obviously, that was a mistake, one which was rectified as soon as it was spotted, within minutes.” A spokesman said customers were able to put money on Ehiogu for “less than five minutes” before the error was discovered, adding that nobody actually placed that particular bet. He added: “We would like to apologise to Mr Ehiogu’s family if they did see the tweet. It was obviously a mistake and no offence was meant.”