Thursday 21 September 2017 11:17, UK
The FA got themselves into a "mess" regarding Mark Sampson's position as England Women's head coach and needed a way out, said Craig Bellamy on The Debate.
Sampson was sacked on Wednesday after information came to light about his conduct during his time as manager of Bristol Academy.
The 34-year-old had recently been at the centre of discrimination allegations made by Chelsea Ladies and England striker Eniola Aluko. He denied the claims, and was cleared by an internal FA review and an independent investigation led by barrister Katharine Newton QC.
While the FA said Aluko's allegations were unrelated to Sampson's dismissal, former Liverpool striker Bellamy is not convinced.
"It is clear the allegations with Aluko aren't going to go away, no one is satisfied with it," he said. "This should have been addressed from the start. They have got themselves into a mess and they were looking for a way out and they have got a way out.
"They needed to get out of it and get rid of him. I think the parliamentary inquiry scares them."
FA executives are set to face a parliamentary inquiry over the investigations made over Aluko.
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan said the FA acted "decisively" in sacking Sampson, but added: "My query with all of it is if we hadn't had the recent set of events with Mark Sampson, would we now have this event and be reviewing what happened in 2014 as a gateway for, what looks to me, like a bit of political correctness.
"You have an England manager that needs to be beyond reproach and there is an instance where he has been exonerated and another set of circumstances that have manifested themselves. You are putting yourself in the way of a set of circumstances that don't leave you beyond reproach."
This should have been addressed from the start. The FA got themselves into a mess and they were looking for a way out and they have got a way out.
Jordan also called on the FA to share what happened with Sampson at Bristol City, after FA chief executive Martin Glenn said no criminal activity had taken place.
"If there isn't a criminal allegation then why can we not take this into the public domain and say what it really is?" said Jordan.
"This is women's football, it's very important, and if the England manager has been taken out of a job for a disciplinary issue and it's a not a criminal offence then why can we not say what it is?"
