Kieran Maguire: Forget Purslow – this is who’s really to blame for Aston Villa controversy
A lower-ranking Aston Villa staff member should have made Christian Purslow aware of the implications of his decision to let Emi Buendia and Emi Martinez travel South America.
So says finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the controversy over the international break.
The Argentine duo was given permission by the club to join up with the national team.
They were among four players that the Brazilian health authorities claim broke Covid-19 protocol.
This site revealed on 8 September that Villa co-owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris are “furious” about the ordeal.
A Villa source told Football Insider that they were unhappy that the pair would miss yesterday’s match against Chelsea, which Villa lost 3-0.
But Maguire argues that the incident was the fault of someone at a micro rather than a macro level like Purslow.
“Somebody has dropped the ball,” he told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams.
“I think it’s harsh to blame Purslow because he is dealing with things at a strategic level.
“This should have been dealt with by somebody whose day job is to dot Is and cross Ts.
“So I think it is tough to blame Purslow, although ultimately the buck stops with him in terms of operations.
“You would have thought that somebody would have pointed out to him the situation.
“But he could have been away on other business, he might have even been at the ECA or something like that, for all we know.
“In that situation, the responsibility would have to be delegated elsewhere.”
In other news, pundit claims James Ward-Prowse snubbed Aston Villa move after “mistake”.