Manchester United Women have called into question the integrity of the Continental League Cup and the female game in general after they were dumped out of the tournament in favour of Aston Villa, despite the Birmingham-based side breaching the rules.
Aston Villa were docked three points on Monday for fielding an ineligible player in a Conti Cup group stage game against Sunderland on Wednesday, 24 January, with the FA stating that an independent tribunal ordered the points deducted be awarded to Sunderland.
The Villans won 7-0 on the night but the scoreline was ultimately wiped, meaning that Sunderland — who did not initially qualify for the last eight — now go through as Group A winners.
Villa have resultantly dropped to second in the group but still qualify as one of the two best-placed runners-up along with Spurs. United finished second in Group B but their record, having originally been better than the Teesiders, is now inferior to Villa’s on goal difference (16-9).
Aston Villa women have been deducted 3 points from the Conti Cup for fielding an ineligible player ⚽
However, they will still go through to the next round as best runners up and Manchester United are now out of the competition ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/fETFXyXVCo
Recapping the events, the club said in the statement: “Aston Villa will progress in the competition at the expense of United, despite fielding an ineligible player. Noelle Maritz [the ineligible individual] played in the Group A win over Sunderland but was cup-tied.”
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The Reds go on to say, “We are very disappointed with this outcome, and do not understand its rationale”, adding, “We feel that it undermines the integrity of the competition and of the women’s game.”
As you can see, fans are understandably just as frustrated as the club itself, with many commenting that the FA should be “ashamed of the decision”, even accusing the competition’s organisers of “profiting from rule-breaking”, adding, “Surely we must clamp down on this blatant cheating?”
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Plenty also remarked that the club “should appeal it because this is something that you can win” but this decision comes after the official tribunal has already been passed.
Is this a joke??? So Villa progress, even though they fielded an ineligible player and we’re the ones to miss out??? Make it make sense!
This makes last week’s derby day defeat to title contenders Manchester City even more damning, as one of the upshots was that both teams were still set to progress into the next round.
Although the decision looks to be entirely out of their hands, the Conti Cup controversy only further highlights United’s recent run of results which have been less than ideal.
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Marc Skinner’s side only narrowly missed out on winning a first WSL title last season and while there are many who still have faith in the manager, the calls for his dismissal are growing.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
30th January 2024 
