No extra time for Bernstein regime
FA chairman David Bernstein’s attempt to extend his term of office was undone yesterday by the rulebook and two members of an FA board supposedly backing the bid.
The FA council voted 45-40 against Bernstein remaining past his 70th birthday in May, when he will reach the age limit for the job. The blazers had earlier decided not to count 20-odd proxy votes, which would in all likelihood have seen him receive a majority, because of ambiguity over the election procedure.
Remarkably Roger Burden, the FA vice chairman proposing the board’s support for Bernstein, announced that he wasn’t a particular friend of the chairman, who had his faults, including sometimes suffering from a ‘humour bypass’. And Sir Dave Richards, the other FA vice-chairman on the board, spoke out against the rules being changed for one person.
Other influential speakers against Bernstein carrying on for that reason were Stoke City chairman Peter Coates, former Liverpool director Noel White and John Ward, the last of whom had to leave the FA board for age reasons.
It also did not help Bernstein’s cause that his regime had attempted to introduce director payments without consulting councillors, who threw out those proposals yesterday.
Bernstein, who had stayed in Warsaw with England, was told of the verdict by general secretary Alex Horne, whose staff will be upset at losing a chairman who had brought stability to an organisation often in turmoil.
Putting on a brave face at a decision made by a council fighting back against attempts to marginalise its powers was Roy Hodgson, who has been joined at the hip with Bernstein since becoming England manager.
Equally disappointed is Minister for Sport Hugh Robertson. He suffered the double blow of councillors being so opposed to the proposed governance reforms they are now said to be dead.
A likely candidate to succeed Bernstein is David Sheepshanks, whose stock is high as chairman of St George’s Park.
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THE appointment of Simon Green as head of BT Sport will be welcomed at Wembley, with the FA much in need of competition for their TV rights co-held by ESPN, whose future UK operation is in doubt. Green has retained close links with the FA since setting up their in-house TV channel.