Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe missed the club’s appearance in the Women’s FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley.
A number of senior figures from United’s football department, including CEO Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox, were at Wembley for the club’s third Women’s FA Cup final in as many years.
But Ratcliffe was not among them for the second year in a row, having missed the 2024 final to attend Manchester United’s Premier League match at Old Trafford against Arsenal.
There was no such fixture clash this weekend, with Ratcliffe attending United’s defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Friday night.
Last year, Ratcliffe attended Manchester United’s victory over Manchester City in the men’s FA Cup, but missed the club’s historic first victory in the Women’s FA Cup final.
He was absent again as United lost 3-0 to Chelsea, who completed an unbeaten domestic treble under manager Sonia Bompastor.
Chelsea’s co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali were at Wembley and were joined by Serena Williams, the 23-time grand slam tennis champion, and her husband Alexis Ohanian, who bought a 10 per cent stake in the club this week.
Ratcliffe has previously received criticism for referencing the Manchester United women’s team as “girls” and the men’s team as the “main issue”.
Manchester United manager Marc Skinner said he did not know why Ratcliffe was unable to attend, but said the club were still “well represented”
“Omar was there, the Glazer family and Jason was as well. Those are the people I deal with every day,” Skinner said. “The reality is it’s the investment in the team that needs to happen, not the visibility. We need to close that gap. Omar is a key player in what we do.
“Jason is a key player in the football side and they were here. I understand the angle. I don’t know the reason why Jim wasn’t here. As long as the club continues to invest to close the gap, that’s still showing support. I feel the support, we need to show it in the right way in the summer.”
Bompastor spoke of the importance of seeing Chelsea’s owners at Wembley and said the appearance of Williams and Ohanian gave her players a “big lift” ahead of the Women’s FA Cup final.
“It’s important they show their support coming to the games,” Bompastor said.
