Women’s group hits out at FA over Sampson

The Football Association faced renewed questions over its competence after the Women in Football lobby group criticised the governing body for failing to heed warnings about Mark Sampson.

The 34-year-old was sacked as england Women’s manager on Wednesday, a day after leading the team to a 6-0 win over Russia, for ‘inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour’ in his previous role at the Bristol Academy.

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

‘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.

‘The safeguarding investigation of 2014, Sampson being sent on an education course in 2015, eniola Aluko’s complaint in 2016 and Dame Tanni Grey Thompson’s Duty of Care report published in April 2017 were all missed opportunities for the governing body to more closely examine the issues.

‘It is 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.’

Sportsmail understands the FA are withholding some of the £80,000 owed to Aluko under their confidentiality agreement.

Aluko (right) was paid to keep quiet after she made allegations of bullying, harassment and racism against Sampson.

But 24 hours after Sampson was sacked for having inappropriate relationships with players in a previous job, Sportsmail has learned that payments due to Aluko have been stopped.

Sportsmail revealed last month that a financial settlement had been agreed between the FA and Aluko essentially to buy her silence, despite two investigations into claims made by the 102-cap striker apparently clearing Sampson of any wrongdoing.

Aluko responded to the original Sportsmail story by meeting FA officials and requesting permission to speak publicly about her case.

What she subsequently said in a series of interviews now appears to be central to ongoing discussions between the governing body and Aluko’s lawyers, and the money is being withheld as a result.

Last night, both the FA and Aluko declined to comment.

The FA say the decision to sack Sampson was not influenced by Aluko’s case, with chief executive Martin Glenn saying it was prompted by the details of an investigation he was made aware of two years ago.

Matters are set to worsen today with Drew Spence — the central figure in the original Aluko racism allegations that were emailed to the FA in May 2016 — due to meet barrister Katharine Newton to corroborate the story before releasing a statement that is expected to support Aluko.

Aluko claimed that during a meeting at the 2015 China Cup, Sampson asked Spence, who is mixed-race, how many times she had been arrested. Sampson has denied the accusations and the FA have said that no evidence has been found to support Aluko’s claims.

But Newton, who led the second investigation, never interviewed Spence, who stepped forward to complain last week. That prompted the barrister’s investigation to reopen.