Aston Villa under investigation for FA rule breach which could impact Man Utd and Sunderland

The FA are investigating Aston Villa for possibly fielding an ineligible player during their Conti Cup win over Sunderland at Eppleton CW.

Villa won the match 7-0 on Wednesday to secure their place at the top of Group A, with Noelle Maritz coming on as a substitute. Yet Maritz, who signed for Villa earlier this month, has previously played three times for Arsenal in this season's competition, meaning Villa could face sanctions from an independent tribunal.

FA rules state a player can't play for more than one club, reading: "Subject to rule 8.14.3, the independent tribunal may: (a) order that the cup match or cup matches be awarded to the opposition club; or (c) make any such other order that the independent tribunal may decide.

"The independent tribunal may determine not to order that the cup match be awarded to the opposition club only in circumstances where the ineligibility is due to the failure to obtain an international transfer certificate or where the ineligibility is related to the player’s status."

Villa could be eliminated from the competition for fielding an ineligible player, while the situation could become complicated if Villa are kept in the tournament and Sunderland are awarded the win. Should that happen, the Black Cats would qualify for the quarter-finals as one of the two best second-place teams on 10 points, ahead of Manchester United.

United finished with nine points in Group B and were beaten 2-1 by rivals Manchester City in their final group match. If Sunderland do progress, Mel Reay's side will advance to the quarter-finals of the competition in February.