Football manager leaves weeks after eight-game ban for female official comments

Barrow boss Mark Cooper has left his job - just weeks after being slapped with an eight-game ban for verbally abusing a female assistant referee.

The struggling League Two side have swung the axe after just one win in the last nine, with the club just six points above the drop zone. The club posted a brief statement on their website, saying: "Mark Cooper has today left his role as First Team Manager at Barrow AFC by mutual consent. The Club can confirm that Assistant Manager Richard Dryden has also left The Dunes Hotel Stadium.

"After discussions on Saturday, it was ultimately decided that we would go our separate ways' said Chairman Paul Hornby. We would like to thank both Mark and Richard for their efforts during their time at Barrow and wish them every success in the future."

Cooper's dismissal comes just weeks after he was given an eight-match ban after telling a female assistant she needed to "realise that it's a man's game" during a league fixture. The FA deemed Cooper to have been in breach of rule E3 after he was found to have referenced Helen Edwards' gender.

The incident took place in the 91st minute of the Bluebirds' 0-0 draw at home to Exeter City last August when Cooper was sent off by referee Andrew Kitchen for the comments made to Edwards. The Barrow boss denied the allegations but an independent regulatory commission found them to be proven.

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On top of the hefty ban, Cooper was also fined £3,000 and ordered to attend a face-to-face education course. An FA statement at the time read: "It was alleged that the manager used abusive and/or insulting words in the 91st minute, which are contrary to FA Rule E3.1, and that these words constitute an 'aggravated breach', as defined in FA Rule E3.2 as they included a reference, whether express or implied, to gender."

Cooper's ban came after Barrow partnered with 'Her Game Too' last month. The anti-sexism in football campaign, launched in May 2021, has garnered support from clubs across the country and received widespread support on social media. Cooper's last game in charge proved to be the 2-1 defeat to Carlisle in the Cumbrian derby on Saturday.

He reflected on the defeat, saying: "We wasted the first half. We weren't anywhere near where we needed to be which is strange for a local derby. We should have come flying out of the traps, which is strange. I don't get it. We allowed Carlisle to get some impetus.

"It was a poor first half and they got a goal from nothing. Instead, we played a lot of square passes and back passes. That wasn't the game plan. It is a local derby; just run about for the fans. If we are going to get beat, let's run about and show some pride for the fans.

"That's what we did in the second half. We put them under a bit of pressure, put a few balls in the box and caused them some problems. We've got to score! We had a free header that hit the bar, a ball that rolled across the line and no one tapped it in and hen a chance eight yards out the centre forward missed and handled it. That's been the story of our season."