Sports minister piles more pressure on FA

followers shortly after the FA had announced his appointment on Tuesday night. But when he realised the situation had escalated yesterday morning he issued a statement via the FA website saying they were ‘not a true reflection of either my character or beliefs and I’d like to apologise’. He added: ‘I’m fully aware of my responsibilities and am immensely proud to have been given the role.’ Sports Minister Tracey Crouch responded to the Neville tweets by stating that ‘sexism of any kind must not be tolerated’. Campaign groups, headed by Kick It Out and Women’s Aid, were even more forceful in their criticism of Neville and questioned the process by which the former United and Valencia coach was appointed. It prompted FA chief executive Martin Glenn to publish an open letter in response. ‘We have been determined to find someone who we think can inspire the team to the very highest levels,’ Glenn explained to Roisin Wood, chief executive of Kick It Out. ‘I have been impressed by Phil’s determination, his integrity and values that came through strongly in his background checks and references… The process was led by Baroness Campbell… and this produced 145 candidates.’ The initial list was whittled down to six, two of whom were female. All were interviewed by Baroness Campbell but all eventually withdrew. It is understood Neville was then approached last month. Glenn insisted the FA were unaware of the tweets, s, which date from 2011 and 2012, during the recruitment process and only became aware of some of them when they appeared in the media on Tuesday. ‘Those comments would not meet the threshold for issuing a charge against any participants (in football),’ said Glenn. ‘But Phil will be educated on all aspects of the FA’s regulatory functions and his responsibilities. He will also be warned that any future comments that are deemed to cross the charging threshold will be treated with the utmost seriousness and may lead to disciplinary action.’ Despite the explanation, Wood posed more questions to the FA, saying: ‘It is difficult to accept that there were no BAME (black, Asian, and minority ethnic) qualified candidates who could have been considered for the position in the same way Neville was, who did not apply. ‘For an organisation that wants to put women’s football high up on its agenda, it is equally hard to accept that the FA could not find one qualified woman who could have filled this position.’ Neville was pilloried for the tweets, tweets the most damaging of whichw was posted while he was on holiday in Florida. F But his wife Julie J posted a message of her own in an effort to offer some context. She said: ‘Phil is the m most honest, kind, generous, ge gentle and hard-working hard man I have ever met.m He is both a wonderful husband and father and I have no doubts he will now dedicate himself 110 per cent to his new role — a role he feels most honoured and privileged to undertake. I could not be prouder.’ Neville’s twin sister Tracey, who is the coach of England’s netball team and was a recipient of one of the tweets, posted her own tweet saying: ‘He has spent his life showing his support to me as a sister, athlete and coach. He will dedicate everything to this role.’