Villa Women could face sanctions after winning game 7-0 due to glaring oversight
Aston Villa's 7-0 victory over Sunderland in the Conti Cup could be overturned after Carla Ward's side fielded an illegible player, a decision that could have huge ramifications for the knockout stages of the competition.
Noëlle Maritz swapped Arsenal for Women's Super League rivals Villa during this season's January transfer window and was brought on as a second-half substitute in Wednesday evening's Conti Cup group stage clash with Championship side Sunderland.
However, Maritz was seemingly already Cup-tied having played thrice for the Gunners in the competition earlier in the season. The Switzerland international started Arsenal's 3-1 victory over Bristol City in November, along with the 2-1 victory over Southampton later that same month. Another appearance arrived in the dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Tottenham Hotspur in December, which the Gunners won 4-3.
Despite the previous appearances, Maritz was still brought on by Villa boss Ward as her side relished a comfortable 7-0 victory over their opposition.
However, the comfort of the victory could all be dashed as Villa could be found in breach of Conti Cup rule 8.14, which deals with the fielding of an ineligible player.
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According to the law, any club to have been found in contravention of the rules will be referred to an independent tribunal to determine the outcome, which includes an order that the match be given to the opposition.
The rules further stipulate that the independent tribunal could not order the match be given to the opposition only in the circumstances where the ineligibility is related to the player's status.
Noelle Maritz played three times for Arsenal during the Conti Cup group stages this season (Photo by Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)If the independent tribunal rules that the match goes to the opposition and Sunderland were awarded the points, the club would have accrued 10 points.
The points tally would see them one to the better over Manchester United whose loss to Manchester City earlier in the evening left the WSL side on nine points. The knock-on effects become even more convoluted if Tottenham Hotspur defeat Southampton on Thursday evening as Robert Vilahamn's side would also be on 10 points.
Villa have yet to comment on the potential rule breach, though the FA are reportedly looking into the matter.
Ten years ago, Reading were found to have violated the same rules, resulting in the club's expulsion from the competition.
Maritz' Switzerland compatriot Alisha Lehmann opened the scoring shortly before the hour mark against Sunderland, before Jordan Nobbs and Rachel Corsie added to the deficit before the interval. A second-half brace from summer signing Ebony Salmon placed the game firmly out of reach before an injury time goal from Adriana Leon and an own goal by Natasha Fenton culminated the evening's exploits.
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