In May 2021, Michael Emery, a 33- year- old semi- professional goalkeeper for Warrington Rylands FC, found himself at the center of serious legal allegations following his team' s FA Vase victory at Wembley Stadium. The celebratory night took a dark turn when a woman accused Emery of sexual assault and the unauthorized distribution of explicit images. The ensuing legal proceedings garnered significant media attention and raised important discussions about consent and privacy.

According to court reports, after the team' s 3- 2 win on May 22, 2021, Emery invited the woman to his hotel room at the Grove Hotel in Watford. They initially engaged in consensual sexual activity.

However, the woman alleged that later that night, while she was asleep, Emery woke her by biting her and proceeded to rape her twice without her consent. She also claimed that Emery took explicit photographs of her while she was asleep and shared them with teammates via WhatsApp, captioning one image with " Anyone want a go? " accompanied by a laughing emoji.

The woman initially hesitated to report the incident due to concerns about the challenges of prosecuting sexual assault cases. However, upon learning about the distribution of her explicit images, she reported the matter to the police on August 16, 2021. Emery was subsequently arrested on September 29, 2021, and charged with two counts of rape and one count of disclosing private sexual photographs without consent with intent to cause distress.