Aston Villa have decided against pursuing legal action against former Liverpool defender and TV analyst Jamie Carragher following his public apology, which came after chairman Nassef Sawiris claimed he had shown disrespect toward the club and its supporters with his recent remarks.
Villa announced via social media on Friday that they were initiating legal proceedings against Carragher, but have since reversed course on that stance.
The frustration stemmed from comments Carragher made on a recent episode of "Stick to Football," where he said Manchester United ranked above Villa in football's hierarchy and suggested manager Unai Emery would entertain a move to Old Trafford. According to The Mirror, Carragher said: "Surely he (Unai Emery) would want that opportunity to manage a giant again. There is a chain in football, whether you like it or not. So Real Madrid will take Manchester United's best player, they'll take (Cristiano) Ronaldo. There's very few above United, same with Liverpool. But there will be teams below Aston Villa, and they'll take their manager, or they'll take their players, so shut the **** up Villa fans. Aston Villa will never be Man United."
Carragher subsequently acknowledged his remarks and apologized over the weekend, saying: "I'd like to apologize to Aston Villa, the owners and their fans. My language this week was clumsy and wrong. 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Villa have since withdrawn their threat of legal action against Carragher in the wake of his apology, according to BirminghamLive, though the club insists such disparaging remarks will not be tolerated in the future.
Two days before the reversal, Sawiris had issued a statement describing Carragher's comments as unacceptable and said the club would not allow such remarks to disrupt its progress.
United's poor start to the campaign has prompted the club to explore alternatives to Michael Carrick should a managerial change become necessary, with Emery among the names linked to the role following his work at Villa Park. Emery, who had an underwhelming spell as Arsenal manager, has guided Villa into the UEFA Champions League on two occasions and won the Europa League since taking charge of the Midlands club.
After a summer of departures and a sluggish start to the season, Villa have begun to find form and remain unbeaten across their last five fixtures. They face a struggling United side this coming Sunday.
