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GREG CLARKE has resigned from his position as FA president after referring to “footballers of color” in an interrogation of deputies about a car accident.
The boss was forced to two public apologies after a series of diversity mistakes that included saying that being gay was a lifestyle choice.
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But he later resigned after being criticized by anti-racist activists, including Kick It Out.
The 63-year-old man has bowed tonight to mounting pressure and walked away from the governing body.
A statement from Clarke said: “As a person who loves soccer and has provided decades of service to our game, it is right that you put the interests of soccer first.
“2020 has been a challenging year and I have been actively considering resigning for some time to make way for a new president, now that our CEO transition is complete and excellent executive leadership has been established under Mark Bullingham.
“My unacceptable words in front of Parliament were a disservice to our game and to those who watch, play, referee and manage it. This has crystallized my determination to move on.
“I am deeply saddened to have offended those diverse communities in soccer that I and others work so hard to include.
“I would like to thank my friends and colleagues in the game for the wisdom and advice they have shared over the years and to resign from the FA with immediate effect.”
Clarke was discussing the need for diversity efforts to continue within soccer when he used the term ‘footballers of color’ when answering a question about the lack of elite gay players.
Clarke told Labour’s Alex Davies-Jones: “I don’t know why, but I look at what happens to high profile female footballers, high profile female footballers of color and the abuse they get on social media, which is free for all.
“Black women and gamers receive terrible vile abuses by racists and misogynists. Why are you voluntarily signing up for that abuse? “
Within minutes, Clarke was criticized by another Labor MP, Kevin Brennan, who asked him to apologize for his language.
The embattled FA president replied: “If I say that, I apologize for it. I am a product of working abroad where I was asked to use the term ‘people of color’ because that was a product of their diversity legislature. Sometimes I stumble over my words. “
But Clarke was also criticized for other comments during his questioning.
These included his apparent suggestion that being gay was a “life choice” and claimed that the South Asian community was more interested in working in the FA’s IT department than in becoming players or coaches.
And he also reported a comment from a youth coach that the girls did not want to be goalkeepers because they did not like to have the ball kicked ‘hard’ at them.
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Sanjay Bhandari, president of Kick It Out, instantly criticized the “outdated” comments.
He said: “I was particularly concerned about the use of lazy racist stereotypes about South Asians and their supposed career preferences.
“It reflects similar lazy stereotypes that I have heard that have been launched at the club academy level. “Being gay is not a ‘life choice’ as he also claimed.
“The casual sexism of saying that ‘girls’ don’t like balls that hit them hard is amazing to anyone, let alone the leader of our national game. It is completely unacceptable. “
It comes just two weeks after the FA released a new Diversity Code with specific recruiting targets for all clubs.
Clarke has also been guilty of similar breed-related mistakes in the past.
He infamously described institutional racism as ‘fluff’ during the DCMS selection committee in 2017 on the FA’s handling of the Eni Aluko / Mark Sampson affair.
CLARKE’S OWN OBJECTIVES
The now former head of the FA has set foot on it several times before:
October 2017 – He receives fierce criticism for referring to institutional racism as “fluff” in front of the same parliamentary committee, forcing him to apologize.
October 2017 – Beaten by a victim of pedophile soccer coach Barry Bennell and accused of likening him to a ‘crying baby’ in Parliament.
Clarke led the FA’s response to allegations of historic sexual abuse in soccer and was questioned by MPs.
Controversially in her testimony to MPs, Clarke attacked the PFA for “turning away” from victims of abuse and spoke of an abuse survivor “crying like a baby” after they were denied money for counseling.
October 2017 – PFA chief Gordon Taylor threatens legal action against Clarke over his suggestion that they did not support the victim with further advice.
October 2020- He faced further pressure after his role in starting secret conversations about Project Big Picture’s plans for the English game review.
November 2020 – He resigned as president of the FA after a meeting with the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
He resigned after a fierce backlash after he referred to the BAME footballers as “people of color” and suggested that “different professional interests” led people in South Asia to choose careers in IT over the sport.
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