Non-League club Sporting Bengal United write to FA demanding talks on Islamophobia

A letter on behalf of non-League Sporting Bengal United has been sent to the FA calling for urgent talks on Islamophobia in football following the decision to grant fellowship rights to former Council member Brian Jones.

Former Sheffield and Hallamshire County FA chair Jones was banned from all football activity for 19 months and fined for sharing an offensive and discriminatory remark on social media in January last year, which was deemed Islamophobic by an independent panel.

In February 2019, Jones apologised before the panel suspended him for 49 days and fined him £100 following a post on his Facebook page, which read: "Pork fact 16: people who eat pork are less likely to blow themselves up."

Last month, the National Game Board voted to restore Jones' rights to receive complimentary tickets and hospitality at Wembley Stadium.

In a letter seen exclusively by Sky Sports News, London solicitors Rahman Lowe, acting on behalf of Sporting Bengal United, has written to interim FA chair Peter McCormick, outlining the Essex Senior League side's concerns.

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The letter calls for Jones' fellowship rights to be revoked and an explanation as to how the decision was reached. Sporting Bengal United - a diverse east London-based team who have a number of Muslim players and off-field staff - are seeking a meeting with the FA to discuss Islamophobia in the game.

Sky Sports News has contacted the Football Association for comment.

Sporting Bengal United, who featured in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup in 2016-17, say "they stand ready to play a full part" in helping English football's governing body tackle inequality.

The club have also asked for action to be taken against the National Game Board, which approved the reinstatement of Jones' privileges, for failing to observe "a duty to promote equality, diversity and inclusion".

The National Game Board was not required to receive approval from the FA Board to grant fellowship rights to Jones. The FA Board opposed the decision.

Show Racism the Red Card chief executive Ged Grebby has added his voice to the calls for the National Game Board to reverse its decision to grant fellowship rights to Mr Jones.

"We fully support Sporting Bengal United's call and share their concerns," he told Sky Sports News.

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"After all the efforts, particularly seen throughout this year urging a stronger stance against racism in the game, is this really the message to be sending out?

"Show Racism the Red Card firmly believe that education is crucial to eradicating these unacceptable attitudes and behaviours from football, and wider society.

"As such, it is concerning how someone who would even consider sharing such a blatantly Islamophobic comment could be appointed chair of the FA's anti-discrimination panel in the first place and is unclear or claims to not have received any equality training.

"We commend the FA for opposing this decision and strongly advise the national game board to reconsider."

Kick It Out chair, Sanjay Bhandari, told Sky Sports News: "The fact that this decision was made, and went against the wishes of the FA Board and their leadership, again highlights the need for changes to be made to the governance structure of football, in order to remove this kind of cronyism.

"Incidents like this which appear to reward casual discrimination undermine the efforts of the leadership of the FA to create change, and play to long-standing stereotypes of some leaders in the wider County FA network being out of touch with modern society."

Last month, senior FA director Stacey Cartwright, a board member, resigned from her position "to pursue other business interests" and will no longer lead the search to find a replacement for former FA chair Greg Clarke.

Cartwright made no reference to Jones in a brief statement following her departure.

An FA Council member, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Sky Sports News last week: "What Stacey has done is highly commendable. Like me, she refuses to perpetuate this 'jobs for the boys' mentality at the FA any longer.

"If Brian Jones is granted FA fellowship rights, he could be sat in the Royal Box, possibly next to our next monarch. Surely that's not the right message we should be sending out to our communities."

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Sky Sports News requested a response to the FA Council member's comments from Jones and Cartwright.

Jones admitted an aggravated charge of misconduct last year and requested a personal hearing.

An independent panel said they were "concerned" by Jones' "lack of understanding in how the post may be seen by those different groups" and claimed he "demonstrated a lack of understanding and limited knowledge".

The commission said he was "unclear as to what training he had received from the FA on equality and that despite being an FA appointed chair of the Anti-Discrimination panel, stated he had not received any training on the Equality Act 2010".

The three-person panel also noted that Jones: "… made admissions at the very first opportunity; that he removed the post from his Facebook account once it had been suggested; that he had voluntarily stood down from the FA Council and the Judicial Panel at the earliest opportunity; that he was embarrassed and apologetic for his actions and accepted that he had made a mistake.

"The Commission had regard to the participant's clean record."