Aston Villa say they will begin legal action against former England defender Jamie Carragher, accusing him of insulting the club and its supporters.
The club announced the move in a statement on social media signed by chairman Nassef Sawiris. It described Carragher’s comments as “unacceptable insults” and said Villa would “not allow anyone to stop our ascension in English and European football”.
The row began on the Stick to Football podcast earlier this week. Carragher suggested that Villa manager Unai Emery would be interested in becoming Manchester United head coach, with Michael Carrick’s position under threat after a poor start to the season. He argued that Emery would surely want the chance to manage a giant club again, and that football has a “chain” in which bigger clubs take players and managers from those below them. He pointed to Real Madrid signing Cristiano Ronaldo from United, said there will be teams below Villa who do the same to them, and told Villa fans to be quiet, adding that Villa will never be Manchester United.
The comments drew criticism from Villa supporters. Carragher, 48, who works as a pundit for Sky Sports and the American broadcaster CBS, replied on social media that telling fans to shut up was a joke, a response to the abuse Villa fans had sent him over his Emery suggestion. He said he had praised Emery and Villa for years.
He explained his position further on Overlap Daily. He said he thinks Emery is the best manager in the league and that any club in United’s position would ask who the best available option is. He added that he was not saying Emery would leave, only that he would ask the question in United’s place, and that a manager’s ego might push him to reject the idea of being told that is his level. He said the whole thing had “grown arms and legs” and repeated that his message to Villa fans was meant in jest.
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