Aston Villa have announced they will take legal action against former England defender Jamie Carragher. Carragher, who is now a football commentator on podcasts and TV shows after playing for Liverpool, said on his Stick to Football podcast that Villa manager Unai Emery could be interested in becoming Manchester United's new manager, the BBC reports. The comment drew strong criticism from Villa fans and the club itself.
In his remarks, Carragher said Emery "will want the chance to lead a big club again" and added: "Villa will never be Manchester United." He cited Emery's past achievements, but insisted there was a hierarchy in football, giving the example of Real Madrid stealing United's top players. These comments were taken as insulting to Villa fans and the club expressed their strong displeasure, calling them an "unacceptable insult".
The club issued an official statement signed by president Nassef Sawiris, confirming that they would be launching legal action against Carragher for his comments. The statement stressed that Villa "will not let anyone stop us" from trying to stop our growth in English and European football. Carragher defended his comments, saying he was "joking" and said on social media that he should have included a video clip in which he praised Emery and talked about his past successes.
Speaking on another podcast, The Overlap Daily, Carragher said there was no chance Emery would move to United, but that if he were in United's position, he would have said he would "ask them". Although he repeatedly insisted he had made the comments as a joke and had no intention of disparaging Villa, his words such as "fuck off" were taken as an insult by fans.
In response to the comments, the club announced that it will consider legal measures as a future response, as well as apologize to fans and improve communication. The repercussions caused by Carragher's comments once again call into question the balance between freedom of speech and responsibility in football. All eyes will be on the progress of the court case and any moves toward repairing the relationship between the club and the commentators.