Football Association chairman Greg Clarke has resigned after coming under fire for a series of comments he made at a committee hearing in front of a group of MPs on Tuesday.
Clarke appeared to pander to a series of racist and sexist stereotypes and also insinuated that being gay was a “life choice” – although it is unclear whether he was referring to the decision to ‘come out’.
Here the PA news agency picks out some of the quotes which have caused a social media backlash – and led, in part, to an embarrassing apology and his departure from the FA.
CLARKE ON RACE
Our response to comments made today by Greg Clarke at the DCMS Select Committee 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/uZ7Iep4PMt— Kick It Out (@kickitout) November 10, 2020
“If I look at what happens to high-profile female footballers, to high-profile coloured footballers, and the abuse they take on social media… social media is a free-for-all.”
CLARKE ON RACE II
“If you go to the IT department at the FA, there’s a lot more South Asians than there are Afro-Caribbeans. They have different career interests.”
CLARKE ON SEXUALITY
Greg Clarke is deeply apologetic for the language he used to reference members of the ethnic minority community during the select committee hearing today. He acknowledged that using the term ‘coloured’ is not appropriate and wholeheartedly apologised during the hearing.— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) November 10, 2020
“The real issue is once you run out in front of 60,000 people and you decided on Monday that you wanted to disclose your sexuality – and I would never pressure anybody to disclose their sexuality – what I would want to do is to know that anybody who runs out onto the pitch and says, ‘I’m gay. I’m proud of it and I’m happy. It’s a life choice, and I’ve made it because my life is a better place’, I’d like to believe and I do believe they would have the support of their mates in the changing room.”
CLARKE ON WOMEN
Our statement in response to the comments made by Greg Clarke at the DCMS Select Committee today.— Women in Football (@WomeninFootball) November 10, 2020
“I talked to a coach – and I’m not certain this is true – and said, ‘what’s the issue with goalkeepers in the women’s game?’ She said, ‘young girls, when they take up the game (aged) six, seven, eight, just don’t like having the ball kicked at them hard’, right? They prefer to kick it than have it kicked at them. We have to understand we need to look at different ways to bring women into the goalkeeper’s position.”
CLARKE’S RESIGNATION STATEMENT
We can confirm that Greg Clarke has stepped down from his role as our chairman.— The FA (@FA) November 10, 2020
“My unacceptable words in front of Parliament were a disservice to our game and to those who watch, play, referee and administer it. This has crystallised my resolve to move on. I am deeply saddened that I have offended those diverse communities in football that I and others worked so hard to include.”
