Editing Ashley Moriarty (section)

== Controversies ==

=== 2022 Real Madrid Controversy ===
During and after the 2021-22 season, Moriarty made a number of comments criticizing the way Real Madrid Femenino was run, saying Real Madrid's parent organization did not care for the women's team. She also blamed head coach David Aznar for shortcomings as a leader and strategist, which led to a poor 2021-22 season, and demanded he be released.

Moriarty was met with some pushback due to these comments, with some saying she was more at fault for the club's poor performance. The situation seemed to escalate internally, to the point where Real Madrid president Florentino Perez stepped in, asking Moriarty to back down and publicly apologize to Aznar and the organization of Real Madrid. Instead, she released a statement threatening to leave the club (and hinting at joining Barcelona if she were to leave), unless structural changes were made and Aznar was released. The situation sparked widespread debate over whether Moriarty was in the right, and whether she would remain at the club for the remainder of her contract. Some pundits concluded she would be released before the start of the new season, whilst others believed the club would be unwilling to lose such a player for free, even despite her comments towards the rest of the organization.

On August 2nd, 2022, in a surprising turn of events, Real Madrid announced they would be releasing Aznar, replacing him with Alberto Toril. Moriarty said she was "pleased with the decision," and was now "keen to return to the pitch in white."

=== Doping Allegations ===
Moriarty has been the target of allegations of substance use on multiple occasions, with some attributing her skills and success to use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. She has taken multiple drug tests to disprove such allegations, all returning negative results.

=== 2023 Women's World Cup Comments ===
Moriarty faced some backlash from comments made after her Round of 16 game against the United States at the 2023 Women's World Cup, in which she described the USWNT as "lifeless" and "a disaster," especially as compared to the team she had faced at the Olympics in 2021. Others, however, echoed her comments, saying the USWNT had delivered their worst performance in World Cup history.

Shortly after winning the competition, Moriarty doubled-down on her comments, saying: "They were definitely the worst team we faced this year. I scored against every team we played, none of them were as easy as the Americans."