THE elected Mayor of Watford has “sincerely apologised” to Middlesbrough supporters after she wrongly claimed they were disrespectful during tributes to Graham Taylor.

Baroness Dorothy Thornhill launched a Twitter tirade during the 0-0 clash at Vicarage Road on Saturday where she claimed the away support had “no bloody respect” for the late footballing legend.

She tweeted: “No bloody respect from borough (sic) I hope if positions were reversed we would behave more kindly. # ThankYou GT show em Watford.”

She has since said she “misheard or misunderstood” the chants.

Twitter users called for the Mayor to delete the post with one writing: "In hindsight would you retract that tweet please? Media, Watford fans & neutrals stated that @boro fans showed great respect.”

Speaking to the Watford Observer, she said: “It is now apparent to me that I misheard/misunderstood chanting.

“It was at an emotional point in the game, please accept my sincere apologies.”

One Hornets fan wrote on the newspaper’s website: “I’m glad she apologised we can all make a mistake. The Middlesborough (sic) fans were fantastic on Saturday.”

The tweet has now been deleted.

Family members of Mr Taylor, who was renowned for his generous spirit and passion for the game, were in the crowd on Saturday when the emotional tribute was paid.

Watford saluted the club’s “greatest manager of all time” before their home Premier League match against at Vicarage Road.

Chants of “there’s only one Graham Taylor” rang out during a minute’s applause in his memory, while clubs, players and fans across the country paid their respects to the much-loved manager who passed away on January 12 aged 72.

The former England manager took Watford from the Fourth Division to a second-placed finish in the top flight in five seasons.

He also guided them to the only FA Cup final of their history – a 2-0 defeat against Everton in 1984 – and European football, as well as enjoying spells with Lincoln City, Aston Villa and Wolves.