Sir Jim Ratcliffe has undermined Omar Berrada’s comments by missing the FA Cup Womens’s final for the second year running.
Manchester United’s Women’s team have ended their season following a 3-0 defeat to domestic treble winners Chelsea in the FA Cup final this weekend.
The result is a disappointing end to a campaign where they had performed admirably. Marc Skinner’s side earned nine points more than they did in the 2023/24 campaign and ended this season with the second-best defensive record in the league.
In the final, it was a close game until the closing stages, where Chelsea added two quick-fire goals to end the clash in comfortable fashion.
Prior to the final, United’s CEO, Omar Berrada, spoke about the importance of supporting the women’s side. “We need to really show the support for this team, for the incredible season they are having and it’s really incumbent on us to be there to help them,” he explained on MUTV.
Although Berrada’s words were positive, they feel like they’ve been undermined by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s actions.
Ratcliffe misses United’s women in FA Cup final
Berrada’s words of encouragement from the club’s hierarchy were felt like they were ringing hollow when Ratcliffe failed to attend the cup final. ESPN asked the club why Ratcliffe would not be at Wembley and they responded saying, “Ratcliffe’s absence was a matter for INEOS rather than the football club”.
This is the second time that Ratcliffe has missed the women’s team in the FA Cup final. Last season he had the excuse of attending the men’s fixture against Arsenal while United’s women won their first-ever FA Cup, but this season the men’s team’s closest game was the 1-0 defeat against Chelsea on Friday night.
Other significant figures at United did attend the game. Alongside Berrada, technical director Jason Wilcox was in attendance and even the club’s co-chairman Avram Glazer managed to attend. Chelsea was also supported by some of their club shareholders including their most recent investor, Alexis Ohanian.
Missing the last two women’s team FA Cup finals would be enough to raise concerns about Ratcliffe’s investment in the women’s team but these absences are just part of a bigger, concerning picture.
United Women under INEOS explained
Ratcliffe’s FA Cup absence is not the first time that United’s women’s team has been overlooked since the British billionaire and INEOS took over the club’s footballing activities. The Guardian’s Suzanne Wrack addressed numerous behind-the-scenes issues that the team was facing back in July.
At the time, both the men’s and women’s teams were in mirrored situations with a poor season in the league band-aided by an FA Cup win.
When manager Marc Skinner spoke of using the win as a “springboard” to further develop the team, Ratcliffe’s response sounded like the women’s team should just be happy with the cup. Wrack criticised the hypocrisy of the FA Cup and a poor league performance being satisfactory for the women’s team whilst also being a poor enough season for the men’s team to discuss sacking Erik yen Hag.
Ratcliffe’s actions and previous comments led to several agents that the Guardian spoke to saying that they “would avoid sending players to the club if they could”.
Ratcliffe’s continued attitude and actions since last year will not have made United a more appealing destination for women’s players as it continues to take the backseat to the men’s side.
Following some massive departures from the women’s side in recent seasons, including Mary Earps and Alessia Russo, the team is in need of recruitment to push on.
This summer is likely to be seen as a litmus test for how truly invested Ratcliffe and INEOS are in the women’s half of the team and fans will be looking to see some positive transfer activity.
However, with the men’s team in need of a massive overhaul, it seems likely that Ruben Amorim’s team will take up most of the club’s attention.
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