Leeds United with the lid off: It's the lawyers' fault says Cellino as critics circle

Cellino is facing a new backlash from fans after Wednesday’s victory by Lucy Ward, partner of former coach Neil Redfearn, in her claim for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination following her sacking as welfare and education officer at United’s Thorp Arch academy.

The tribunal panel said it believed that Cellino had made sexist comments about the place of women in football.

United last night issued a statement saying he “categorically denies” making the remarks, and today the owner is reported to have said that the fault lay with his lawyers for not calling him to give evidence in what he described as “a simple case”.

He told The Independent that he would not apologise to Ms Ward, nor offer her an invitation to return to the club because he assumed she would reject it.

He said: “I was not involved with the matter. It is a routine employment case. It’s normal in any business. I don’t know why I was not called as a witness.”

Ms Ward, meanwhile, released a statement on Twitter and said she had been “overwhelmed” by the messages of support she had received since the ruling.

In the statement, which has been awarded hundreds of ‘likes’ by other users of the social media site, she said: “This result is for all my friends and colleagues who also had to leave the club through no choice of their own and who weren’t in a position, for whatever reason, to fight. You know who you are.”

The Yorkshire Post understands that Ms Ward’s lawyers are to ask the Football Association to look into the findings of the tribunal.

Wednesday’s verdict was welcomed by the Women In Football group, which hailed Ms Ward as “talented, dedicated and passionate” and said she had been “sadly mistreated”.

The Time To Go Massimo fans’ group, which has staged a series of protests against Cellino’s running of United, put out a strongly-worded response to the result.

The group said: “[This] is yet another in a long line of events that drags the great name of Leeds United through the gutter.

“We implore Massimo Cellino to end this farce and sell the club to one of the more credible groups interested in purchasing Leeds United, and to sell it to them at market value.”

Leeds Ladies FC chairman Gary Cooper said: “It’s a sad situation and you have to wonder what all the girls and women out there who have season tickets think about it.

“I have four daughters so you could say I’ve a vested interest in this but a club like Leeds United needs to have an owner who believes in parity and equality.”

The tribunal heard a claim that Cellino once said to Mr Cooper that “football is no place for women” and “they should be in the bedroom or beauticians”.

Mr Cooper yesterday said the comments were made at a meeting that took place in May 2014 when he was chairman of the Leeds United Supporters’ Trust.

In Thursday night’s statement, United said: “At an employment tribunal this week regarding a former Leeds United employee, the tribunal chairman wilfully chose to publish to the attending press hearsay evidence of an alleged conversation between Mr Cellino and a third party, in which sexist remarks were alleged to have been made by Mr Cellino.

“Mr Cellino was not in court, nor was he a party in the case.

“However, Mr Cellino categorically denies making the statement, which has since dominated the media coverage of the hearing, and would like to make it clear that such a statement does not represent his views of women in football whatsoever.”

Ms Ward argued at the tribunal that her sacking last year happened because Cellino was planning to get rid of Neil Redfearn and believed they “came as a pair”.

A further hearing is likely to be held in June to consider a financial settlement in relation to the case.

Meanwhile, United fans have been continuing to give online reaction to the result.