FA chief is feeling heat over shambles
FA chief executive Martin Glenn is under increasing pressure over the Mark Sampson farce as it comes on the back of his decision to endorse the appointment of Sam Allardyce last summer.
Glenn has admitted he only asked last week to see full details of a year-long investigation into Sampson’s behaviour despite knowing of its existence as far back as October 2015.
His review of the material led to the dismissal of the England women’s team coach on Wednesday for “clear evidence of inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour by a coach”.
However, Glenn was already in the dock as part of a review of Allardyce’s ill-fated appointment as the England senior men’s team manager last year.
New FA chairman Greg Clarke was furious that one of his first tasks in the job was to
sack a man whom he personally felt should never have been appointed by Glenn, together with technical director Dan Ashworth and former FA vicechairman David Gill, in the first place.
The FA yesterday reiterated Allardyce’s departure 12 months ago was instigated purely as a result of revelations from a sting operation by a national newspaper.
Nevertheless, Clarke always felt that earlier controversy caused by a 2006 Panorama documentary should have raised question marks over Allardyce’s suitability during the due diligence process overseen by Glenn only months before. Sources at Wembley admitted the “rigours over the appointment of an England manager have since been increased”, but this latest fiasco does little to help Glenn as external pressure was also being put onto his position.
Damian Collins MP, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, has called for Glenn to lose his job if he cannot provide satisfactory answers to an inquiry on October 18 following claims of bullying, harassment and racism during Sampson’s reign led by England striker Eni Aluko.
Yesterday, the Women in Football campaign group alleged the FA were aware of concerns over Sampson with regard to inappropriate relationships with players at Bristol Academy before he was appointed to the England set-up in 2013.
They also claim the football authorities missed a number of opportunities to question Sampson’s suitability for the role. “We understand that questions over Sampson’s suitability were flagged to the FA as early as 2013 during the recruitment process,” Women in Football said.
“The safeguarding investigation of 2014, Sampson being sent on an education course in 2015, Aluko’s complaint in 2016 and Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson’s Duty of Care report published in 2017 were all missed opportunities for the governing body to closely examine the issues.
“Indeed 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. WiF routinely receive complaints of discrimination and abuse from women working in football. We rely on the governing body’s ability to properly investigate these issues in a transparent, competent manner.” Aluko was paid £80,000 to keep quiet about her accusations of bullying in March 2016, as England prepared for this summer’s European Championship. Two investigations initially exonerated Sampson of wrongdoing before these more historic allegations proved his downfall.
“Be it Martin Glenn or whoever, if it’s found that they ignored advice and warnings that were clear then I think their position does become untenable,” said Collins.
Senior FA staff at the time insist they were unaware of any allegations surrounding Sampson until the investigation was ordered in March 2014.
The report was delivered exactly a year later, two months before Glenn formally took office, a detail which could yet save his job.
We rely on FA to investigate properly