FA IN CRISIS AS SAMPSON AXED
We both agreed that Mark’s position was untenable
THE FA were in crisis last night after England women’s manager Mark Sampson was sacked because of inappropriate relationships with female players he coached at Bristol Academy.
FA chief executive Martin Glenn admitted having been made aware of an investigation into Sampson’s conduct two years ago but failing to look into it further.
Last Wednesday, Glenn was passed the full report into accusations against Sampson in March 2014 — soon after he became England manager — of inappropriate relationships with more than one female player at Bristol Academy, claims which made his position ‘untenable’.
Sampson joined Bristol Academy, now called Bristol City Women, in 2009 and later took charge of the programme for 16-19-year-olds before becoming manager of the senior team in 2011. Glenn made it clear no criminal activity had taken place.
But, asked if it was appropriate if Sampson coached again, Glenn said: ‘How can it be?’
An FA official later clarified he was referring to the prospect of Sampson coaching at the FA again, but Glenn added: ‘We know that coaches are in a potential position of power and that position mustn’t be abused. He is not deemed a safeguarding risk but to us it’s a conduct issue. The standards we set in the FA would not be compatible. A club would have to make up their own mind.’
The FA’s confidential investigation concluded Sampson did not pose a risk to players, but in a farcical admission Glenn insisted he would have sacked Sampson at the time had he been fully aware of the allegations.
Glenn had been made aware of the report in October 2015 but did not look into it further until he received it last week.
After reading the report, Glenn immediately shared it with FA chairman Greg Clarke.
‘We were both deeply concerned with the contents of the report,’ said Glenn. ‘We felt during his time at Bristol, Mark had overstepped the professional boundaries between player and coach. We both agreed that Mark’s position was untenable.
‘We had a subsequent meeting with the board on Monday. The board unanimously support our recommendation and therefore we terminated Mark’s contract.’
But the 34-year-old, whose partner Gemma and baby daughter Amelie were with him at the Women’s European Championship in Holland this summer, was allowed to remain in charge as England beat Russia 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier at Prenton Park on Tuesday night.
England players hugged their manager after Nikita Parris’ opening goal as a statement of their ‘unity’, but Sampson was sacked hours later, with Glenn axing the Welshman over the phone yesterday afternoon.
Glenn (right) said: ‘My personal regret was that I was made aware there had been an inquiry in October 2015. It was a very perfunctory and verbal report to say he had been investigated and cleared to work in football. I guess my mistake was taking at face value that the details of the case were confidential. If I had known then what I know now I would have probed further.’
The FA maintained that this is a separate issue from the allegations of bullying, harassment and racism raised by Chelsea forward Eni Aluko in May 2016, but Glenn conceded that he was given the report because of the scrutiny Sampson has been under.
Sportsmail revealed last month that the FA paid Aluko £80,000 to keep quiet about her complaint, despite Sampson being cleared by two investigations.
Glenn said: ‘Because a number of people had been seeing the general scrutiny that Mark was under, several people took it to our attention and said we should go and reopen the case file and take a look.’
Clarke added: ‘Having read the report in detail, there are different allegations about different things, which is why we’re talking in the plural. Some could be categorised as trivial and some as very serious. None could be categorised as criminal.’ Sampson is set to be paid the balance of his £150,000-a-year contract, understood to be around £20,000. The separate investigation into allegations of racism, first raised by Aluko and corroborated by Drew Spence last week, remains ongoing with barrister Katharine Newton. In a move that will further embarrass the FA, Sportsmail can reveal that Spence is set to release a public statement on the issue later this week and is due to meet Newton on Friday. The charity Women In Sport last night tweeted: ‘In light of the @FA news, we are currently reviewing our position with regards to Mark Sampson’s role as our patron’.