Hull City Ladies chair requests relegation amid turmoil at club

The chair of Hull City Ladies, Daniel Johnson, has submitted a request to the Football Association for the club to be relegated from the third tier, the Guardian has learned, amid allegations of mismanagement of the club's finances being made against him by his own players.

- Tom Garry

Multiple club sources have alleged that Johnson's relegation submission is an attempt at retaliation after several squad members criticised him in public social media posts over the past 72 hours, with players expressing fears their team "might not exist in a few weeks".

The Guardian has heard allegations from multiple sources with knowledge of the club's finances that there is a "black hole" of at least £200,000 that is unaccounted for within the club's accounts across the past five seasons. The Guardian contacted Johnson for a response.