Greg Clarke promises 'top to bottom' cultural review of FA in wake of Eni Aluko scandal

The beleaguered Clarke also admitted the FA has "lost the trust of the public" in a damaging few weeks for the governing body

Greg Clarke has called for a cultural review of the FA (Getty)

Football Association chairman Greg Clarke has promised a "top to bottom" cultural review of the national football centre at St George's Park.

The beleaguered Clarke also admitted the FA has "lost the trust of the public" in a damaging few weeks for the governing body.

Clarke's frank assessment came in a 2,600-word speech to the FA council's autumn meeting at Wembley on Thursday.


 Clarke admits the FA have failed 
 (Getty)

The chairman described last week's appearance before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee as "a bruising personal experience and the culmination of a very damaging episode for the organisation".

Clarke, FA chief executive Martin Glenn, technical director Dan Ashworth and human resources boss Rachel Brace were invited to appear before the DCMS panel to explain the FA's handling of the allegations of bullying and racism made by striker Eni Aluko against former England women's team manager Mark Sampson.

Clarke told the council the quartet went to Westminster to defend themselves and the actions they took in response to Aluko's complaint, hoping to persuade the MPs that mistakes were made but lessons have been learned and their intentions were good.

"We failed," said Clarke, explaining how the judgement of the politicians, media and public was "very clear".

He then repeated the apology the FA made to Aluko and her team-mates Lianne Sanderson and Drew Spence, all of whom have aired grievances against Sampson, who was eventually sacked last month for what the FA judged was inappropriate behaviour in his previous job at Bristol Academy.

Clarke then described the reaction to last Wednesday's hearing, saying that "a storm has blown through us and we have struggled to cope".


 Clarke says he has apologised to Aluko (Getty Images)
 (Getty)

That storm, he claimed, "stripped us of our veneer and exposed some deeper fundamental truths" about why the FA's successes are taken for granted but its failures leapt upon.

"I believe it is because we have lost the trust of the public and I think this lack of trust is underpinned by three characteristics," Clarke said.

These characteristics, he explained, are the FA's huge remit and a perception it lacks competence, a lack of diversity throughout the organisation and - unlike most other national football associations - a failure to properly utilise the experience and skills of senior players and managers.

Saying the FA "needs to be an organisation of this time", Clarke said it was clear to him that the governing body must "simplify its mandate in order to be competent", "embrace inclusivity" and "harness the expertise" of senior players and managers.

Clarke said the immediate priority is to put in place a robust whistle-blowing and grievance procedure for England players. Work on this has started with UK Sport and will be finished by December, when it will be shared with other sports.

The second initiative will be the "full cultural review" of St George's Park, where there is currently only one coach from a black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) background working with an age-group team.

Clarke accepted that he was "rightly castigated" for dismissing as "fluff" claims of institutional racism during last week's DCMS hearing. He said: "It was a terrible word to use and I deeply regret it."

He concluded by telling the council that the board would publish its views on his proposals by the end of the year and he proposes that the council discusses them at its next meeting in January.