Stoke City relegation rivals sack manager and announce surprise replacement
Stoke City’s relegation rivals Cardiff City have sacked Omer Riza and appointed former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey as his replacement until the end of the season.
Riza was axed after Friday night’s defeat to Sheffield United which left them 23rd in the Championship and one point adrift of safety, with the club now among the favourites to drop into League One.
Stoke had beaten Cardiff last weekend to push the Bluebirds deeper into trouble, with Mark Robins’ men following up the victory with a 2-0 success over Sheffield Wednesday on Good Friday.
The Potters now look in an excellent position to avoid the drop, sitting seven points clear of the bottom three with three games to go.
A statement from the Welsh club read: “Cardiff City FC can confirm that a decision has been taken to relieve Omer Riza of his duties as first team manager.
“Aaron Ramsey will lead the club for the remaining three games of the Sky Bet Championship season, beginning with Monday’s match at home to Oxford United.
“Chris Gunter, Joe Ralls, Tom Hutton and Matthew Bloxham will join Aaron in the technical area.
“We’d like to thank Omer for his passion and effort during his time as Cardiff City manager and wish him the very best for his next steps in the game.”
Riza angered Cardiff fans this week when he accused “a lot of them” of being “clueless” over their criticisms of him and the team. Riza had initially impressed as manager when he replaced Erul Bulut in September that had seen him handed the job until the end of the season.
But they have hit a dreadful run of late and they are currently bottom of the form table.
Wales captain Ramsey rejoined his hometown club Cardiff in the summer of 2023 after a distinguished career with Arsenal and Juventus. Ramsey is currently sidelined by injury, having had surgery on a damaged hamstring last month.
Cardiff conclude their campaign with home games against Oxford and West Brom and an away game at Norwich on the final day of the season on May 3.
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