Football: Kelly comes to defence of Hoddle
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.GRAHAM KELLY, the chief executive of the Football Association, spoke out last night in support of the England coach, Glenn Hoddle, in the continuing row about his intimate revelations from the World Cup.
Kelly defended Hoddle's right to keep a record of events, said he had not broken any confidences and justified the role of the FA's media director, David Davies, who will profit from writing the book From Glenn Hoddle: The 1998 World Cup Story.
As for the detailed account of what happened when Hoddle told Paul Gascoigne he was out of the France 98 squad, Kelly said the manager was only filling in the details of an event that Gascoigne had already described in a newspaper himself.
In a statement to the Press Association, the FA chief executive said: "With the permission of the Football Association, Glenn Hoddle compiled a record of his thoughts as events unfolded in the build-up to, and during, the World Cup finals.
"As with previous England managers and coaches after major tournaments, there was no reason to refuse permission," Kelly said. "Very few individuals are qualified and get the chance to coach their country's national team at the biggest sporting event in the world.
"Glenn has been fortunate enough to do that. He therefore has the rare chance to give an insight into all the pressures that surround the task of competition at the very top level.
"The fact that this book was being produced has been public knowledge for many months and authors are paid for producing books. Some of the matters it covers are inevitably controversial. Glenn has expressed his views in detail. I am not aware he has breached any confidences. In a single case where a player has already made public a detailed version of one incident in Spain last May, Glenn has sought to explain precisely what happened.
"In the book the England coach addresses head on the issue of secrecy about his teams in the build-up to matches and why he believes it is necessary. When it comes to wider issues, the FA has no wish to attempt to censor his views."
Following serialisation of the book in The Sun this week, Hoddle has come under fierce attack from various people within football. Among his strongest critics have been Gascoigne's club manager at Middlesbrough, Bryan Robson, who called the revelations "pathetic" and Gordon Taylor, of the Professional Footballers' Association, who has described the England coach as "unprofessional."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments