Mark Sampson appointment questioned by Women in Football as FA discovered allegations four years before his sacking
England Women manager was sacked on Wednesday after past allegations of an 'unacceptable relationship' were revealed
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Your support makes all the difference.Mark Sampson’s appointment as England Women manager in 2013 has been questioned by Women in Football, given that the Football Association were first made aware of allegations about his past controversies while he was applying for the national team role.
The 34-year-old was dismissed on Wednesday after a decision was made between FA chief executive Martin Glenn, chairman Greg Clarke and the FA Board that is position was untenable due to allegations that were made while he was working with Bristol Academy,
Glenn confirmed that Sampson was found to have “an issue about the relationship between coach and players” that was “unacceptable”, but the Women in Football group issued a statement on Thursday to express their concern that Sampson was initially given the job back in 2013 when these allegations were first brought to the attention of the FA.
“Women in Football [WiF] are deeply concerned by the revelations surrounding Mark Sampson’s employment as England manager,” the statement read. “WiF understands that questions over Sampson’s suitability for the role were flagged to the FA as early as 2013 during the recruitment process. The safeguarding investigation of 2014, Sampson being sent on an education course in 2015, Eniola Aluko’s complaint in 2016 and Dame Tanni Grey Thompson’s Duty of Care report published in April 2017 were all missed opportunities for the governing body to more closely examine the issues.”
Damian Collins MP, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, went one further and claimed that the FA had demonstrated an “inexcusable” lack of leadership, and that the governing body now has very serious questions to answer.
“They [the FA] have based their decision [to sack Sampson] on this historical investigation from a few years ago,” said Collins. “He should never have been appointed in the first place and action should have been taken a long time ago.
“And what's inexcusable then is the way they didn't refer back to this old information when Eni Aluko's allegations about a culture of bullying within the England camp were made known. I think now we have to look very seriously at her concerns that her allegations were not investigated properly and there are still questions to be answered.”
Chelsea Ladies and England striker Aluko alleged that Sampson had racially abused her over a comment that he made regarding her family having the Ebola virus – a claimed that Sampson denied – and that a culture of bullying had spread under his tenure. An investigation by the FA found that Sampson had no case to answer, even though Aluko’s teammate Drew Spence supporter her accusations, but a tip-off last week led to Glenn looking in to the previous case and deciding that Sampson had “overstepped the professional boundaries between player and coach”.
WiF echoed Collins’ claims, and found it hard to believe that the FA had allowed Sampson to continue as England manager without looking back at his prior record when Aluko and Spence made their accusations.
“Indeed it is unfathomable that an England manager could be sent on a course to emphasise the appropriate boundaries between coach and player, as a direct result of a safeguarding investigation, and not be subject to any sort of due diligence,” the WiF statement continued.
“WiF routinely receive complaints of discrimination and abuse from women working in football. We rely on the governing body’s ability to properly investigate these issues in a transparent and competent manner.
“The allegations from Eniola Aluko and subsequent failings in the investigation into her complaints, alongside these most recent safeguarding concerns, suggest an incoherent approach to ensuring football is a safe place for all.”
Sampson was also removed from his role as patron of the Women in Sport charity late on Wednesday night, but he was astonishingly supported by former England goalkeeper David James, who launched a verbal attack on Aluko and suggested that she had fabricated the claims to try and get Sampson sacked when he was no longer selecting her for the national team.
Mark Sampson sacked as @England women's manager?! Seems some wasted talent can't deal with the fact they aren't good enough! #enialuko,” James wrote on Twitter.
“Basically, Mark Sampson is being told, 'even though you may have changed, you are being F**KED because of your past'. #b******s.”
James’ claims unsurprisingly attracted criticism from other social media users, and when asked how the Women’s Super League’s top goalscorer last season is not good enough for the international team, James responded that Aluko is a “poor international player, not a ‘team’ player”.
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