HANDS OFF!
Bizarre scene as star England player shrugs aside under-fire boss Sampson in training
ENGLAND women’s manager Mark Sampson was involved in further controversy yesterday as he was shrugged away by full back Lucy Bronze after putting his hands on her shoulders in training.
The bizarre incident occurred during an open training session ahead of Sampson facing more questions about former player Eni Aluko’s allegations against him of bullying, harassment and racism.
Even more oddly, just 45 minutes later, Sampson denied having any memory of being handed off by star defender Bronze, who has 48 England caps and has just moved to European champions Lyon from Manchester City.
‘I can’t even recall it,’ he said. ‘I was pleased with the session, the players worked really hard. Bronzy has done exceptionally well. She is a great character and a really good player. We have a fantastic working relationship, the environment within the team is very positive.’
Bronze last night tried to make light of the incident, writing on Twitter: ‘When the gaffer tries to man mark you in training’ with a series of ‘laughing’ emojis.
Sampson, 34, denies the string of allegations against him. In Aluko’s initial complaint, emailed to the FA, she made claims of bullying and harassment, and accused Sampson of making a racist comment to her mixed-race Chelsea team-mate Drew Spence during the 2015 China Cup, asking her how many times she had been arrested. Aluko, 30, later alleged Sampson had told her to make sure her Nigerian relatives did not bring Ebola to a match, an allegation lodged with the FA in a letter from the PFA after she submitted a complaint. Sampson was cleared by an internal inquiry and independent investigation, but Sports-
mail revealed the FA still paid Aluko £80,000, which some have seen as hush money. Asked yesterday if he had ever had a conversation with Aluko about Ebola, Sampson replied: ‘I can’t remember any particular conversation.’
Yet Sportsmail has seen part of Sampson’s testimony to barrister Katharine Newton, who led the independent investigation, in which he gives a different version of events. When asked by Newton about the Ebola allegation, he said: ‘At the World Cup... before Mexico, we did a press conference and [Eni] was the nominated player. At the start, the lady got both our names wrong. She introduced Eni as “Eddie Aluko”. We were laughing in the car on the way back, and I said to her fair play for correcting her. She told me that she had once been called by a cold caller who called her “Ebola” instead of “Eniola”. The people in the car laughed.’ When pushed yesterday on his failure to recall this, Sampson added: ‘What I made clear was that, again, it’s not right for me to go into the details of a confidential investigation. And, in relation to the allegations made against me, I’ve answered them very clearly.’
FA pay striker who was bullied out of England women’s squad Leading the way:way how Sam Cunningham broke the Aluko story on August 6