REVEALED: STAR AT CENTRE OF SAMPSON RACE STORM
England boss accused of slighting Aluko’s clubmate Spence
THE player at the centre of Eni Aluko’s original racism claims against England manager Mark Sampson is Chelsea midfielder Drew Spence, Sportsmail can reveal.
Sampson is alleged to have claimed that one of his players had been arrested by the police, but the player’s identity had previously been unknown.
Spence was not interviewed by the FA’s internal investigation, or by lawyer Katharine Newton in her fourmonth independent inquiry, despite her being the central figure in the most serious allegation in Aluko’s complaint.
The FA insist that Spence, 24, was not questioned because she was not named in Aluko’s complaint that Sampson had made a comment with ‘derogatory racial and prejudicial connotations’. Aluko, Spence’s Chelsea teammate, did not take part in Newton’s inquiry as she felt the initial investigation was one-sided.
However, the FA made her identifiable in the 15-page summary report, written by Newton, which cleared Sampson of a number of allegations made by Aluko.
Sampson is alleged to have made a comparison between receiving a caution in midfield and getting a police caution when he turned to Spence and said ‘haven’t you been arrested before then, four times isn’t it?’ Spence, who is mixed race, has never been arrested.
In Newton’s report she is aware that the alleged incident took place at the China Cup 2015 during a midfielders meeting and that the player involved is Aluko’s ‘Chelsea team-mate’. A simple internet search of that squad reveals, on the FA’s website, there to be only five midfielders. Only Spence and Laura Coombs, who is white, played for Chelsea.
Aluko was not present during the meeting but claimed, in her original eight- page complaint emailed to FA technical director Dan Ashworth and head of performance Dave Reddin in May last year, that Spence came to her after the meeting in distress to tell her about the comment.
Aluko’s account identifies Spence further, without naming her, by saying she was on her ‘first international senior camp’. It remains Spence’s only involvement with the national team.
Spence’s representatives were contacted by Sportsmail but did not respond.