Sports Minister Tracey Crouch tells FA to learn from Mark Sampson 'sorry saga'
Thursday 19 October 2017 19:19, UK
Sports Minister Tracey Crouch has warned the FA to learn from the "sorry saga" of its handling of investigations into Mark Sampson.
The FA has "sincerely apologised" to Eni Aluko and Drew Spence after new evidence found the two players were subjected to "discriminatory remarks on the grounds of race" by former England Women's head coach Sampson.
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport chair Damian Collins said the four FA bosses who faced the committee should consider resigning over the affair, but the football governing body's chairman Greg Clarke insisted he would not quit despite admissions his organisation had breached its duty of care to the players.
Crouch has now issued a statement on the DCMS inquiry, urging the FA to adhere to standards set out by the government.
"I hope that the FA learns lessons from this whole sorry saga to ensure that all in the sport and the wider public have faith in their processes and procedures," said Crouch.
"We have been clear that we expect world-leading standards of governance from all our national sports governing bodies.
"This is why, alongside Sport England and UK Sport, we have drawn up a new Code for Sports Governance that all publicly funded sports bodies, including the FA, must adhere to."
Sky sources understand there is no desire at board level to sack Clarke or chief executive Martin Glenn.
