Brighton player forced to apologise for gesture he made after Liverpool thrashing

Solly March has apologised for sticking his middle finger up to the Anfield crowd on Sunday.

Brighton & Hove Albion had just been hammered 4-0 by Liverpool on the final day of the season when the midfielder made the rude gesture while applauding the travelling supporters. Given the meaning of the gesture, many assumed that March was sending a vulgar message to some fans but he's since cleared up the reason for it in his Twitter apology shortly after the game. https://twitter.com/Solly_March/status/995708679931514883 Several viewers complained to Sky Sports but it remains unlikely that he will face any serious punishment. The Seagulls finished their first ever season in the Premier League in 15th place but Sunday was certainly a day to forget, with manager Chris Hughton putting the heavy defeat down to a difficult schedule. "It's been a tough week for us and I think that probably showed a little bit," Hughton told the Argus. "We flew up to City during the week for a very difficult game up there where the concentration levels have to be high. To come and do it again a few days later, I think maybe it took it's toll a little bit. "When you look at the forward line they started, we knew we were going to be in for a difficult afternoon. You have to defend really well, be a bit fortunate, which at times we were, have a good goalkeeper that can make good saves, and most of all, we needed to be better on the ball. "We never relieved the pressure enough with our ability on the ball. It was difficult, very difficult."