Carragher apologises to Villa for 'wrong' language

What the report says

Jamie Carragher has apologised to Aston Villa, their owners and supporters after remarks he made on a football podcast prompted a strong reaction from the club. The BBC reported that the former Liverpool and England defender, now a pundit for Sky Sports and CBS, had linked Villa manager Unai Emery with the Manchester United job and used language the club said was unacceptable.

Villa said on Friday they would begin legal action over Carragher’s comments, which came on the Stick to Football podcast. He had suggested Emery would want to move on to a bigger club and told Villa fans to “shut up,” while saying Villa would never be Manchester United. The club’s statement, signed by chairman Nassef Sawiris, described the remarks as offensive.

On Saturday, Carragher posted an apology on social media, saying his wording was “clumsy and wrong” and explaining that he had intended his comments as tongue in cheek. He repeated that view later on the Overlap Daily podcast, saying his remarks were meant in jest and that he was trying to praise Emery, whom he described as the best manager in the league. The episode highlights how comments about a club’s status and manager can quickly escalate when made publicly by a high-profile pundit.