HAMMER HORROR
West Ham suspend Tony Henry after African slur Sakho alleges club don’t like black players FA launch probe
WEST HAM UNITED suspended head of recruitment Tony Henry yesterday amid dressing-room unrest and an outrageous accusation from ex-player Diafra Sakho that the club do not like black players.
The London club was plunged into crisis with West Ham players responding in horror to yesterday’s revelations in
Sportsmail. West Ham will appoint an independent QC to lead their investigation while the Football Association launched their own inquiry.
After discovering Henry had sent at least one email to an agent stating that the club did not want to sign ‘any more African players’ — and then telling this newspaper that it was because some ‘have a bad attitude’ and ‘ cause mayhem’ when they are not in the team — some of their players
responded on social media. In the shocking interview Henry gave to Sportsmail, he cited Sakho as an African player who gave them problems, as he tried to justify what he suggested was a club recruitment policy.
Sakho responded yesterday by posting an explosive accusation on Snapchat, which Sportsmail verified had been written by the former West Ham striker.
He said: ‘ They lie to people. They pretend I am bad because I have character. I am a lion, they scared and now everyone gonna see why I wanna leave this club. Show all fans what is true.
‘They don’t want black players. One by one we going out. Good luck all West Ham fans. Soon we see the truth. I believe in justice.’
West Ham wasted little time yesterday in responding to
Sportsmail’s revelations, confirming before 9am that 60-year- old Henry had been suspended.
West Ham have six players of African descent and their Senegal midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate posted a picture of himself on Instagram yesterday morning with the caption ‘African and proud’.
It was liked by team- mates Arthur Masuaku and Pedro Obiang, with players apparently horrified that a senior member of staff had expressed such views. One told Sportsmail: ‘You just can’t write something like that.’
The club statement said: ‘We can confirm that director of player recruitment Tony Henry has been suspended pending a full and thorough investigation.
‘ West Ham United will not tolerate any type of discrimination and has, therefore, acted swiftly due to the serious nature of these claims.
‘The West Ham United family is an inclusive one where, regardless of gender, age, ability, race, religion or sexual orientation, everybody feels welcome and included. The club will make no further comment until the investigation has been concluded.’
West Ham have asked for a transcript of this newspaper’s telephone interview with Henry, and we are happy to oblige. Senior officials at the club have taken a very dim view of Henry’s conduct and expect full co-operation from all members of staff as they carry out their investigation.
The mission statement of West Ham’s main community project states their commitment to battling exclusion but the club remained tight-lipped last night on the issue of whether other senior officials could be implicated in the controversy. It was a stipulation prior to being shown the email sent by Henry on January 27 that this newspaper would not reveal the identities of the two recipients.
But the club are aware that one of them is a key figure in their hierarchy. Just as they know that Henry claimed when confronted by Sportsmail that he was not alone in wanting to limit the number of African players in the squad.
Whether that forms part of an independent QC’s investigation remains to be seen, but an FA investigation could certainly extend beyond Henry if there is evidence that implicates others at the club.
The governing body could request copies of emails and written documents as they look at the allegations of discrimination by West Ham.
Club insiders stressed yesterday that manager David Moyes had tried to recruit the Cameroonborn player who is referenced in the email sent to this newspaper on deadline day.
Moyes, who worked with Henry when they served as manager and scout at Everton, is due to appear before the media for his pre-match press conference later today and will be grilled over their working relationship.
A statement issued yesterday by the Professional Footballers’ Association said: ‘We are shocked at the reported comments published in the media. The PFA strongly condemn any such views and there is no place for them in football.
‘The swift action by West Ham is encouraging and we trust they will deal with this in keeping with football’s position on all matters of equality and anti-racism.’
On Wednesday, Lord Herman Ouseley described Henry’s email as potentially ‘unlawful’.
But yesterday the Metropolitan Police said the matter would have to be formally reported to them before they could investigate and decide if any offence had been committed.