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Manchester United advances in FA Cup
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FA Cup: Mata leads Man Utd win as Rashford hurt; Cardiff wins 7-goal thriller

By Nicholas MendolaJan 15, 2020, 4:43 PM EST
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The FA Cup’s fourth round fixture list is complete, pending one water-logged reschedule, after Manchester United and Cardiff City picked up wins on Wednesday.

United’s win came at a cost, as Marcus Rashford limped off with a back injury.

[ MORE: Premier League schedule ] 

Watford and Tranmere Rovers face a replay next week after seeing their Tuesday match moved due to an unplayable pitch.

Spurs outlasted Middlesbrough on Tuesday to headline a host of replays.

As for Wednesday…

Manchester United v. Wolves

The visitors thought that they’d gone ahead early, but an inadvertent handball was caught by VAR to keep the score 0-0.

Red-hot Juan Mata made the difference with a delightful run to meet Anthony Martial‘s through ball, dinking the ball over John Ruddy in the 67th minute.

What a goal from one of the serially underappreciated players of his generation.

Carlisle United 3-4 Cardiff City

League Two relegation candidates Carlisle showed well against their Championship visitors, taking a lead through Nathan Thomas.

Cardiff scored the next three goals of the match, but Harry McKirdy twice pulled the hosts back within a goal at 3-2 and 4-3.

It was just too big an ask of the Cumbrians, though, as Aden Flint’s double joined goals from Josh Murphy and Danny Ward to make it 4-2 before the hour mark.

FA Cup fourth round schedule

Jan. 24
Northampton Town v. Derby County
QPR v. Sheffield Wednesday

Jan. 25
Brentford v. Leicester City
Southampton v. Tottenham Hotspur
Millwall v. Sheffield United
Reading v. Cardiff City
West Ham v. West Brom
Burnley v. Norwich City
Coventry City v. Birmingham City
Newcastle United v. Oxford United
Portsmouth v. Barnsley
Hull City v. Chelsea

Jan. 26
Man City v. Fulham
Watford or Tranmere Rovers v. Manchester United
Shrewsbury Town v. Liverpool

Jan. 27
Bournemouth v. Arsenal

LIVE, FA Cup replays: Man United v. Wolves headlines

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By Joe Prince-WrightJan 15, 2020, 2:35 PM EST
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Manchester United host Wolverhampton Wanderers in their FA Cup third round replay on Wednesday as the teams separated by just three points in the Premier League table lock horns.

[ LIVE: Follow all the FA Cup scores here ]

The Red Devils host Wolves after a 0-0 draw at Molineux and although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to continue to rotate his squad, he knows this competition presents a very serious chance to win some silverware this season. So too do Wolves and Nuno Espirito Santo has gone with a full strength team despite a few inconsistent displays in recent weeks.

Whoever prevails at Old Trafford will face a trip to either Tranmere Rovers or Watford in the next round, as their replay was postponed on Tuesday due to bad weather across England.

Wednesday’s other FA Cup replay sees fourth-tier Carlisle United host second-tier Cardiff City, as the winner will play away at Reading in the next round. Both games kick off at 2:45 p.m. ET.

Click on the link above to follow all of the action from Old Trafford and Brunton Park, as a place in the fourth round awaits and both games will go to extra time and penalties, if needed.

Cardiff City parts ways with Neil Warnock

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By Kyle BonnNov 11, 2019, 1:32 PM EST
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Cardiff City has fired manager Neil Warnock with the 70-year-old boss in his fourth season with the club.

The Bluebirds sit 14th in the Championship table, on a six-match run that features just a single win.

Warnock’s tenure at Cardiff City featured promotion from the Championship in 2017/18 via a second-place finish in the league table. It wouldn’t last long, as they were relegated the next year, finishing 18th, two points back of Brighton Hove & Albion in safety.

“I am leaving my beloved Bluebirds after over three years of which have been some of the best days in my long football career,” Warnock said, with the club officially stating the decision came via mutual consent. “It is a shared belief that this is the right time for a new voice as we believe this squad of players is more than capable of getting success.”

“On behalf of Cardiff City Football Club, I thank Neil for his invaluable contribution to the future of this great Club,” said Cardiff City FC Chairman Mehmet Dalman in a club statement. “He not only gained promotion in his first season but played a pivotal role in uniting the fans and the club. I am personally upset by his departure and wish him the very best for the future.”

At 70 years old and completing his 17th managerial stint with 15 different clubs, it is possible that Warnock’s managerial career is complete. The Sheffield-born former Barnsley player, who turns 71 in less than a month, has taken charge of 112 Premier League games and overseen a record eight promotion campaigns in his career to date.

At Cardiff, Warnock took charge of 144 matches total, with 59 wins. He was in the position for the death of Emiliano Sala, which he called “by far the most difficult week of my career.”

FIFA verdict in Sala case warns of Cardiff transfer ban

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Associated PressNov 4, 2019, 2:04 PM EST
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ZURICH — FIFA has warned Cardiff it is facing a transfer ban of three windows if the club fails to send 6 million euros ($6.7 million) to Nantes as the first payment for Emiliano Sala.

The threat facing Cardiff was detailed Monday in FIFA’s published verdict in a dispute over the Argentine forward who died in a plane crash in January before playing for his new team.

After getting the written verdict in recent days, Cardiff can appeal against FIFA’s ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

FIFA says an appeal will stop the clock on Cardiff’s 45-day deadline to pay until a binding verdict by CAS. That could take about one year.

Sala was killed when a single-engine aircraft carrying him from Nantes to Cardiff to complete his move crashed near the Channel Island of Guernsey late on Jan. 21.

Hours earlier, FIFA says, it received an online document from the Welsh soccer federation to complete transferring the player’s registration from France.

Cardiff to appeal Sala transfer fee ruling

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By Joe Prince-WrightOct 2, 2019, 10:42 AM EDT
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Cardiff City have confirmed they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after being ordered by FIFA to pay the first instalment of $6.5 million to Nantes for striker Emiliano Sala.

Sala signed for Cardiff in January but was killed in a plane crash in the English Channel on Jan. 21. He was flying to Cardiff to being training with his new team after completing his $18.4 million transfer to the then Premier League club.

Nantes had complained to FIFA that Cardiff hadn’t paid them the first instalment for Sala, as the Welsh side claimed it wasn’t legally binding and the two clubs met FIFA in Switzerland last week.

FIFA then ordered Cardiff to pay the transfer fee for Sala, and the Bluebirds have released the following statement as they confirmed they will appeal to CAS.

“Following FIFA’s update on their announcement regarding the transfer of Emiliano Sala, Cardiff City Football Club will be launching an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Cardiff City FC is extremely disappointed at the decision of the Players Status Committee to award against the club. It would appear the committee has reached its conclusion on a narrow aspect of the overall dispute, without considering the full documentation presented by Cardiff City FC to FIFA.

“Nevertheless there remains clear evidence that the transfer agreement was never completed in accordance with multiple contractual requirements which were requested by Nantes, thereby rendering it null and void. We shall be appealing to CAS in order to seek a decision which considers all of the relevant contractual information and provides clarity on the full legal situation between our two clubs.”

Cardiff added that “this is a complex matter, which includes ongoing civil and criminal considerations both in the UK and abroad, which will likely have an impact on the validity of the transfer. It is therefore vital that a comprehensive judgement is reached following a full assessment and review of the facts.”