Watford Football Club has withdrawn its legal action against the Watford Observer over an article it published last month.

The club said the article “seriously questioned the integrity” of the club, and the Observer has now published an apology in the paper and on its website.

It has also agreed to pay £3,000 in damages to the club’s Community Sports and Education Trust as part of the settlement.

It followed a meeting in London last week between representatives acting for both parties.

The club had threatened to sue the newspaper, editor Peter Wilson-Leary and deputy sports editor Kevin Affleck following an article published on Friday, May 11 under the headline “Club chiefs under fire”.