FA launches cup final investigation over women’s toilet at Wembley without sanitary bin

The Women’s FA Cup final was held at Wembley in front of a crowd of 76,082

Sonia Twigg
Monday 13 May 2024 17:22 BST
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The Women’s FA Cup final was held at Wembley
The Women’s FA Cup final was held at Wembley (The FA via Getty Images)

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The Football Association is going to investigate why a designated women’s toilet during the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley did not have a sanitary bin.

The sold-out affair saw Manchester Unitedlift their first Women’s FA Cup trophy in the club’s history with a dominant 4-0 win over Tottenham, in front of a crowd of 76,082.

But for some of those in the ground, their attention was drawn to the lack of sufficient facilities in one of the women’s toilets.

Fiona Crackles, a Great Britain Hockey player, who won Bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, posted about the situation on her Instagram story, saying: “Over 76,000 people watching the FA Cup Final at Wembley...but no sanitary bins in the women’s toilets.

“Great to make some of the usual men’s toilets into women’s to cope with the increased demand, but this isn’t good enough.”

The Independent understands that the FA will be investigating the matter, and that sanitary bins are normally provided in every cubicle, and that they will look into and find the toilet photographed by Crackles.

At the Women’s Cup final, the toilets were split, with 70 per cent of them allocated as women’s and 30 per cent as men’s, while that ratio is reversed for men’s matches. Wembley can cater to all demographics and change those percentages according to the gender split of fans in attendance.

At the match itself, Ella Toone scored a stunning goal on the stroke of half time to give Manchester United a lead they never looked in danger of losing, despite their mixed form in the Women’s Super League.

Lucia Garcia earned player of the match for her brace, although one was due to an error from Tottenham goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer, and Rachel Williams scored a well-timed header.

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