Aston Villa has dropped its threat of legal action against Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.
The former Liverpool defender had apologized on Saturday for using "clumsy and wrong" language when he suggested that Aston Villa manager Unai Emery would want to manage a "giant" club like Manchester United.
On Friday, Villa had indicated they would pursue legal action against Carragher for what they described as "unacceptable insults" in a statement signed by chairman Nassef Sawiris. The comments were made on the "Stick to Football" podcast.
Carragher's remarks implied a hierarchy in football where a club like Aston Villa might be seen as a stepping stone, stating, "Aston Villa will never be Manchester United." He also made comments that prompted him to tell Aston Villa fans to "shut up" in response to their criticism.
Carragher later posted on social media that his comments were intended to be "tongue in cheek." He added, "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."
The club's decision to drop the legal threat came after Carragher's apology.