Gareth Southgate slams disgraced Greg Clarke's racist remarks but insists FA is diverse
Posted Thursday, November 12, 2020 by Dailystar.co.uk
Greg Clarke resigned from his position as FA chairman after making disgraceful remarks in the Government's DCMS Committee hearing, and England manager Gareth Southgate agreed he had to go
Gareth Southgate insists Greg Clarke's racists comments were unacceptable and that he 'had to go' as FA chairman.
Clarke was forced to resign on Tuesday night following his disgraceful remarks to the Government's DCMS Committee hearing into the current state of English football following the impact of Covid-19.
Clarke, who refered to "coloured footballers", insisted homosexuality was a "life choice" and also made disparaging remarks about women and South Asian people, was left with no choice but to quit his £190,000-a-year role as one of the most powerful men in the game.
England boss Southgate admits Clarke left himself in an untenable position and he said: "The terms he used were not acceptable and not a reflection of the FA and what us, as a team, stand for. He had no alternative but to resign.
"He's done a lot of work behind the scenes on the FA's 'Diversity Code' and when we had those (racist) incidents in Montenegro and Bulgaria he was at the forefront of helping the players.
FA chairman Greg Clarke apologised for his racist slur before resigning
"But what he said was unacceptable and he had to go."
The FA now face renewed accusations of still being an inherently racist organisation that does not move with the times and is not diverse enough.
England manager Gareth Southgate faced the media in his Zoom press conference on Wednesday, November 11
But Southgate believes this is unfair because the FA has made great strides in recent times and he added: "People have a view of the FA, but over 800 people work there and there are people from numerous international backgrounds. It's as diverse an organisation as I've ever been a part of."
England have suffered a huge blow on the eve of tomorrow's game with the Republic of Ireland following the news Liverpool defender Joe Gomez has suffered a knee injury in training.
England and Liverpool defender Joe Gomez upset manager Gareth Southgate with his injury in training (Image: REUTERS)
Gomez has returned to his club to undergo scans on suspected damaged knee ligaments and Southgate added: "I can't tell you how serious it is, he is yet to have scans.
"There was nobody around him when the injury happened. We all hope that it is not what it might be. It's not a good situation, but we can't speculate on the exact nature of the injury."
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