Earlier, we published a piece, “World Cup 2018: The Sexiest Fans,” that did not meet our editorial standards. We regret the error and have removed the piece. There are many interesting stories to tell about the World Cup and we acknowledge this was not one of them.

The photo gallery’s sub-headline read “Talk about a knock-out round,” according to the Guardian, which noted the gallery “exclusively featured pictures of women.”

Getty’s chief executive Dawn Airey conceded to UK Channel 4 News that it was “not appropriate or in any way consistent with our company values or beliefs.”

Airey also told Channel 4, “We hold a deep belief in the power of visuals to incite change and shift attitudes and we have done, and will continue to do, much work to promote and create a more evolved and positive depiction of women.”

iMediaEthics has written to Getty for more information; a Getty Images spokesperson provided iMediaEthics with this statement:

“Earlier, we published a piece, ‘World Cup 2018: The Sexiest Fans,’ on our consumer-facing site FOTO that did not meet the site’s editorial standards or was in any way consistent with our company values or beliefs. We apologize for what was a regrettable error in judgement. The story has been removed from FOTO and there will be an internal investigation.

 “Getty Images holds a deep belief in the power of visuals to incite change and shift attitudes and we have done, and will continue to do, much work to promote and create a more evolved and positive depiction of women.”