Crossword Genius

Irony as mistake by international stops Manchester City? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ferric

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'irony' is the definition.
(ferric means to do with iron)

'mistake by international stops manchester city?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'mistake' could be 'err' (to err is to make a mistake or blunder) and 'err' is located in the answer.
'international' could be 'i' (abbreviation eg in IMF) and 'i' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'as' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ferric that I've seen before include "Of iron with a valency of three" , "made of iron" , "Relating to one form of iron" , "Containing iron" , "Of trivalent iron" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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