Never apologise, never explain

A German football club will refund the tickets of 600 fans in an unusual apology for a “pitiful performance” that ended in a 4-0 loss at Schalke.

Energie Cottbus supporters travelled some 610km (380 miles) to Gelsenkirchen on Friday only to see their team suffer the sixth loss in seven games. The club made the offer in a web statement headed “Sorry, Energie Fans!”.

Cottbus are second from bottom of the Bundesliga table and in danger of being relegated at the end of the season.

- BBC News