FA CEO reaffirms commitment to tackle inequality in football

The Football Association’s CEO Mark Bullingham has today confirmed the resignation of FA Chair Greg Clarke after unacceptable and offensive comments were made in parliament. He also reaffirmed the FA’s commitment to tackle inequality and all forms of discrimination in English football. 

“Greg Clarke stepped down from the role as FA Chairman yesterday afternoon, acknowledging that some of his words in the Select Committee hearing were unacceptable and offensive,” he stated in an official announcement. “We respect his decision and are clear that his words simply do not reflect the views of the FA, our people and the organisation we are today.” 

UNACCEPTABLE LANGUAGE

Clarke resigned yesterday after he used unacceptable language when referring to Black players, while speaking to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee via video link. Upon resigning, he admitted that his comments were unacceptable.

“My unacceptable words in front of Parliament were a disservice to our game and to those who watch, play, referee and administer it,” stated Clarke. “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.” He added that “as a person who loves football and has given decades of service to our game, it is right that I put the interests of football first”.

OUTDATED ATTITUDES

The ‘offensive’ comments come just two weeks after the FA revealed its Football Leadership Diversity Code to tackle inequality in the English game. However, many believe such ‘outdated attitudes’ and ‘language’ are unlikely to change while the game remains dominated by White men. In fact, out of the 10 FA board members four are women, and just one is from a Black and ethnic minority background.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 today, Iffy Onuora, Equalities Officer at the Professional Footballers’ Association, and a former Huddersfield and Gillingham striker, said “more education is still needed about the effect of certain words and phrases and why they are offensive”. “There’s certain terms we don’t use any more,” he pointed out. “We’ve moved on.”

TACKLING ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

Bullingham reaffirmed his commitment to “actively enhance equality and diversity across English football, whilst steadfastly challenging and tackling all forms of discrimination. As with many organisations in this country, we are on a journey and have made substantial progress in these areas.  For example, our published In Pursuit of Progress plan has helped us to create a far more inclusive and diverse organisation. Our work on the Football Leadership Diversity Code has taken many elements of this plan, such as published targets for ethnic and gender diversity, to drive change throughout the game. We have consistently reduced our gender pay gap to be far smaller than many organisations and have a very small ethnicity pay gap. We are investing record amounts in the women’s game, which remains one of our top priorities.” 

However, Bullingham also acknowledged that there’s still a long way to go to level the playing field, both on and off the pitch. “Whilst all of this is progress, we would be the first to accept that we have more to do,” he admitted. “We are committed to further progress and will continue to transparently publish our plans and targets.”

FOOTBALL HAS POWER TO UNITE

He added: “We know that football has the power to unite and bring people together. We have a clear and focused vision on how we will do that, improving opportunities within football by breaking down barriers so that we have an inclusive game that we can all be proud of. We absolutely recognise that there is more work to be done, but our commitment and passion to help improve lives, embrace diversity and create opportunities will remain fundamental to our organisation for years to come.”

Bullingham confirmed that Peter McCormick will step up as interim FA until a new independent FA  Chair is found. “Our aim is to have one in place as soon as possible. Our process will be open and conform to the Diversity Code, ensuring that we are able to select the best candidate from a diverse talent pool,” he stated. However, many players like England defender Tyrone Mings, believe appointing a Black man or woman as the next Football Association chairman would be a huge step forward.