The curt, dismissive, almost implausible response sent by the FA chairman on receiving an email detailing Eni Aluko’s allegations against Mark Sampson means his appearance in front of MPs may be his final act in the job“I’ve no idea why you are sending me this. Perhaps you could enlighten me?” It’s not the response that would ordinarily be expected from the leader of an organisation that purports to take the fight against racism seriously and had just been sent a six-page document claiming that a cover-up involving a racial allegation had taken place within his own structure. Related: Revealed: the 14-word email that puts FA’s Greg Clarke under fresh scrutiny Continue reading...
The holes in the FA’s version of events make a case for its chief executive to stand down on the Lady Bracknell principle of administrative bunglingThe FA chief executive, Martin Glenn, has acted decisively – if confusingly and belatedly – in dismissing Mark Sampson from his post as the manager of the England women’s team.Glenn’s next step should be to offer his own resignation. Again this should be done promptly, and with an acceptance the public expects more from the governing body of its national sport than bungled attempts at spin and reputation management, or moral principles that appear to bend with the weather vane of bad publicity. Related: Embarrassment for FA as Glenn contradicts lawyers about Sampson investigation Related:...
The new June start will reduce club-country wrangles but the weather could be a problem and the increase to 24 teams is a terrible ideaOn 26 October 1863 the representatives of 11 schools and football clubs met at the Freemasons’ Tavern near Covent Garden in London and founded the Football Association, seeking to establish a unified set of laws, essentially so that those who had gone to different public schools could play against each other when they met at university. Ever since, it feels, the notion of the sport as an end in itself, as a good to be cherished and protected, has been dwindling. Short-term self-interest rules. Related: Africa Cup of Nations to switch from January staging to June...
Investigation into 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids found no smoking gun with the most entertaining revelations being FA’s inept attempt to host the eventWell, that escalated quickly. Midway through Tuesday afternoon Fifa’s sudden decision to publish the whole of the Garcia report into the conduct of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids felt like a momentous, possibly vital moment of outage. Here it was at last, the chance to digest Garcia’s toxic innards; to find, perhaps, the smoking machine gun at the heart of this entire epic saga of human folly and greed.An hour or so later, as the pages flickered past, Full Garcia already felt like something else, perhaps the great unreadable post-modern football novel we’ve been...
The majority owner of Arsenal defined himself as an ‘investor’ after rejecting Alisher Usmanov’s offer. It exposes his motivation for an inert, absentee regimeThe statement made by the Arsenal majority owner, Stan Kroenke – after the club failed for the first time in 20 years to finish in the Premier League top four – was clinically short, utterly unemotional, yet for all that, distinctly revealing of his motivation for involvement in the club. Related: Stan Kroenke: ‘My Arsenal shares are not, and never have been, for sale’ Continue reading...