Crooks’ resignation over Batson snub a fresh blow to Kick It Out
Kick It Out was plunged into fresh turmoil last night after Garth Crooks quit over the appointment of Sanjay Bhandari as chairman.
Crooks, who was part of the panel tasked with replacing Lord Ouseley as head of English football’s anti-discrimination watchdog, yesterday confirmed he had resigned as a trustee after Brendon Batson was overlooked for the role.
Last week’s appointment of Bhadari, a lawyer and equality expert, was meant to represent a fresh start for Kick It Out, which has been engulfed by accusations of sexual assault and bullying by former staff that are subject of a Charity Commission probe.
But the exit of Crooks, who was at the 1993 launch of Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football and became a trustee eight years ago, has exposed deep divisions within the organisation about its future post-ouseley, who had been chair since its inception until quitting himself this year.
Crooks, the former Tottenham Hotspur forward, and now a pundit, told The Daily Telegraph he had “desperately” wanted former Batson, the former West Bromwich Albion defender, to succeed Ouseley but was outvoted by his fellow trustees, including representatives of the Football Association, Premier League and English Football League.
He claimed the rise in racist abuse of footballers – something he branded “out of control” – had made a “player-led” Kick It Out a necessity. He also warned it was “really important” that, in its “quest to fight all discrimination”, the charity did not “leave racial discrimination behind”. Crooks quit a month after the conclusion of an independent, Qc-led review into the culture and governance of Kick It Out. The findings were shared with the Charity Commission but not made public.
Kick It Out said: “We’re grateful to Garth for his years of service as a Kick It Out trustee and his work towards making football a more inclusive place for everyone.
“We wish him well going forward and are confident he will remain an important voice in the fight for equality.”