Barrow boss leaves club 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.

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