Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale has hit back at former FAW chairman Alun Evans for suggesting they have become an English club.Thursday's decision by an FA board to allow City to represent England in the UEFA Cup next season if they beat Portsmouth in the FA Cup final was described as a "backward step" for football in Wales by Evans, who fears it could hinder the development of their domestic game.

FA regulations would previously have prevented Cardiff automatically qualifying for Europe by winning the FA Cup because as a Welsh side they would normally qualify via the Welsh Cup.

Evans made his feelings clear on the ruling, insisting: "At the moment you might as well say that Cardiff is an English club and has no relevance to Welsh football.

"Cardiff are now designated as an English club and so are Swansea and all the other teams playing in England."

However, his comments have angered Ridsdale, who revealed the Bluebirds could now even consider their future affiliation to a national association.

"I am disappointed with the comments expressed today by Alun Evans of the FAW," said Ridsdale. "You would think at a time when Cardiff City have reached an FA Cup final for the first time in 81 years he would be congratulating us rather than rubbishing the decision to give us the ultimate reward of a UEFA Cup place if we were to win on May 17.

"Cardiff City have played in the English league system for some 100 years and should rightly be given the rewards accorded to any other club that wins any of the English competitions."

Speaking in a statement released on www.cardiffcity.co.uk, he added: "Whilst we wish the FAW well, for Alun Evans to say 'you might as well say that Cardiff is an English club and has no relevance to Welsh football' may well prompt us to consider our options for the future as far as affiliation to a national association is concerned."

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