FA CEO reveals he sought out black woman to lead inquiry into Mark Sampson

Martin Glenn, the Football Association's under-fire chief executive, has revealed that a black woman was deliberately chosen by the governing body to investigate racist allegations surrounding former England Women's manager Mark Sampson.

FA CEO reveals he sought out black woman to lead inquiry into Mark Sampson

Martin Glenn, the Football Association's under-fire chief executive, has revealed that a black woman was deliberately chosen by the governing body to investigate racist allegations surrounding former England Women's manager Mark Sampson.

The internal investigation into Sampson, who was sacked on Wednesday for "inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour" in his previous role at the Bristol Academy, was conducted by Dan Ashworth, the FA's technical director, and human resources director Rachel Brace.

Glenn revealed on Thursday that he had sought out Katharine Newton - a woman of black ethnicity - to conduct the follow-up inquiry. The Guardian, however, claims that Farrar & Co, the FA's solicitors, told the newspaper that Newton's skin colour had been "utterly irrelevant".

Glenn also dismissed suggestions of racism and bullying within the FA, but vowed to apologise to Eni Aluko and Drew Spence if it was uncovered that Sampson had made racist remarks to them in an incident separate to the allegations which have cost him his job.

That will be looked into by the Newton-led investigation which has been reopened by the FA.

Speaking to the Guardian, Glenn said he feared "two middle-aged-ish white people doing the inquiry may have seen some of the shades of the issue that Eni was trying to get at".

He continued: "So, quite deliberately, I said, 'I want an independent look at this and, to be blunt about it, I want it to be an employment expert, I want it to be female and I'd like it to be of a different ethnicity to us' - in case we were missing things and in case the way we had done the inquiry may not have made people of a different ethnicity comfortable to speak up.

"I feel good about doing that. You can pick holes but I'm not going to get into a 'he said, she said' about why some things were raised. You can deal only with complaints that get raised, not total hearsay. It was a full investigation."

Glenn's latest remarks come with the FA facing serious questions over its competence after the Women in Football lobby group claimed the governing body was warned about Sampson.

"It could very well be the case that Mark said some crass things," Glenn added. "I don't know, you won't know and I suspect no-one will know.

"If it's true that he has made inappropriate comments to Eni Aluko and Drew Spence, I will apologise. He doesn't need to - but I will apologise on behalf of the FA because we don't operate the ship like that.

Eniola Aluko.
Eniola Aluko.

"But is there evidence of systematic racial bias, or bullying, in that national team? Absolutely not. Two inquiries have shown that. We'll finish the work after she (Newton) has spoken to Drew. But it's not one (a culture) of systematic bias. I have to apply the principles of natural justice to this."

It was alleged on Thursday that Sampson's behaviour was first reported to the FA around the time of his appointment in December 2013, and these claims became the focus of a year-long investigation by the governing body's safeguarding unit.

That investigation cleared him from a safeguarding point of view and he was allowed to continue his preparations for the 2015 Women's World Cup, where England finished third.

The FA, however, has now admitted the safeguarding team insisted Sampson go on an course to address his behaviour at Bristol, but no senior official thought to ask for more details or read the unit's report until last week.

In a statement, WiF said it was "deeply concerned" by the revelations surrounding Sampson's appointment, which it believes should never have happened.

Mark Sampson.
Mark Sampson.

"WiF understands questions over Sampson's suitability for the role were flagged to the FA as early as 2013 during the recruitment process," it said.

It added that it was "unfathomable that an England manager could be sent on a course to emphasise the appropriate boundaries between coach and player, as a direct result of a safeguarding investigation, and not be subject to any sort of due diligence".

There was no suggestion of dissent against Sampson as he guided England to a 6-0 win over Russia on Tuesday, with his players pointedly celebrating goals with him.

Former England goalkeeper Pauline Cope feels that was wrong, though.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live: "What I saw shocked me and the first person I thought about was Eni Aluko. Every player in that squad was her friend. It was a kick in the teeth and that disgusted me."

Aluko and her fellow Sampson critic and England colleague Lianne Sanderson are appearing before the DCMS committee on October 18. That was originally intended to investigate the handling of Aluko's racism complaint, but will now look for answers on the whole Sampson affair.

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