Man Utd knocked out of the Conti Cup after Villa's 'ineligible player' penalty

ASTON VILLA have retained their place in the Conti Cup quarter-finals despite the withdrawal of an ineligible player following a decision by an independent tribunal.

The outcome led to Manchester United being eliminated from the competition, with the club describing the decision as “disappointing”.

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Last Wednesday, Villa emerged victorious from the final group stage by beating Sunderland 7-0 to finish top of Group A.

However, the WSL side brought on Noelle Maritz as a substitute in the second half when they were 3-0 up.

This is despite the defender, who sealed a move from Arsenal in January, having secured a cup win after playing for the Gunners in the league earlier this season.

Maritz featured in three Conti Cup matches for the north London club before sealing a temporary move to Villa during the winter transfer window.

Her actions in Villa's victory last Wednesday breached Conti Cup rules, prompting an FA investigation. The case was later referred to an independent tribunal.

This afternoon the Football Association released a written statement about the outcome.

It said: “An independent tribunal has deducted three points from Aston Villa for fielding an ineligible player during the League Cup group stage against Sunderland on Wednesday 24 January 2024.

“The FA claimed that the player was ineligible for this match as she had previously competed for her former club, which is a breach of cup rule 8.19.

“Aston Villa admitted this allegation and acknowledged that the offense had occurred.

“The independent tribunal has ordered that the points deducted from Aston Villa be awarded to their opponents Sunderland, while the 7-0 scoreline must be removed from the record.

“As a result, Sunderland will finish as winners of Group A, with Aston Villa progressing to the quarter-finals as one of the top two runners-up alongside Tottenham Hotspur.”

The tribunal's decision followed Midlands admitting the charge of using an ineligible player and admitting an infringement had occurred.

Before that, Sunderland had finished second in Group A.

But the team are now top of the table and Villa reach the quarter-finals of the Conti Cup as one of the best runners-up with a better goal difference than that of Man United.

After their 2-0 defeat in Group B against Man City last Wednesday, the Red Devils had a goal difference of nine.

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This afternoon, Man United questioned the rationale of the tribunal's decision.

In a club statement they said: “We are very disappointed with this outcome and do not understand its rationale.

“We believe this undermines the integrity of the competition and the women's game.”