BIRMINGHAM (The Thursday Times) — Jamie Carragher has apologised to Aston Villa, its owners and its fans for “clumsy and wrong” language, a day after the club said it would take legal action against the pundit over what chairman Nassef Sawiris called “unacceptable insults”.
“I’d like to apologise to Aston Villa, the owners and their fans,” Carragher wrote on social media on Saturday. “I can assure Villa fans it was tongue in cheek but I can understand it’s not come across that way, so apologies.” Villa have not said whether they will still pursue the case.
“Aston Villa will initiate legal action against Jamie Carragher for his unacceptable insults about the club and its fans,” Sawiris said on Friday. “Aston Villa will not allow anyone to stop our ascension in English and European football.” The club did not say on what legal basis it would act.
The former Liverpool defender had told Villa fans to “shut the f*** up” on the Stick to Football podcast, insisting that “Aston Villa will never be Man United”. “I’m not trying to annoy Villa fans but there is a chain in football, whether you like it or not,” he said. “Real Madrid will take Man United’s best player, they’ll take Ronaldo … But there will be teams below Aston Villa and they will take their manager or they will take their players.”
The row began with speculation linking Villa manager Unai Emery to Manchester United, where Michael Carrick is under pressure after a dismal start to the season. Carragher has since said the remarks were made in jest. “It was a joke after the stick Villa fans have given me over saying Emery may fancy joining Man Utd,” he wrote on social media, adding that he had praised Emery and Villa for years, including when they won the Europa League in Istanbul this year. He called the Spaniard one of the best managers in the Premier League.
