Chelsea sorry for player's posts

English soccer club Chelsea apologized on Sunday after Instagram posts by Brazilian player Kenedy "caused great offense and hurt the feelings" of the Chinese people.

The 21-year-old winger sparked outrage among netizens over the weekend when he posted images on social media that appeared to use bad language against China and mock a Chinese security guard.

Kenedy quickly deleted the posts, but "the damage had already been done", the English Premier League club said in a statement on Sunday, adding that it "solemnly and sincerely apologizes".