English soccer players offer to refund fans who traveled to see brutal 6-1 loss

A top-tier English soccer team was so embarrassed by its loss over the weekend that players are now offering refunds to their fans.

Tottenham's players said in a statement Tuesday morning that they will reimburse fans who purchased tickets and traveled to see their 6-1 defeat against Newcastle on Sunday – a loss in which they conceded five goals in the opening 21 minutes of the game.

"As a squad, we understand your frustration, your anger," Tottenham's players said in part of their statement. "Sunday wasn't good enough. We know words aren't enough in situations like this but believe us, a defeat like this hurts."

ESPN reported that roughly 3,000 visiting fans will have the cost of their tickets reimbursed by the players. 

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Tottenham said on its website that the refund process will be completed within 24 hours.

"We know this does not change what happened on Sunday and we will give everything to put things right, starting against Manchester United on Thursday evening when, again, your support will mean everything to us," the players said in the statement. "Together – and only together – can we move things forward."

Sunday's loss was particularly gutting for Tottenham fans, given the stakes. Newcastle was sitting in third place out of 20 teams in the English Premier League, while Tottenham was fifth with roughly one month remaining in the season. The top four finishers in the league will be invited to compete next year in the UEFA Champions League, which is the most prestigious club tournament in global soccer.

The loss to Newcastle also led Tottenham to fire its interim manager, Cristian Stellini, who had been on the job for less than a month. He had stepped in following the departure of Antonio Conte, who left the team after criticizing the team's players and ownership in a news conference last month.

Tottenham is not the first English soccer team to refund fans after a brutal loss. Sunderland took a similar step after losing 8-0 to Southampton in 2014.