gettyimages-932269978.jpg
Getty Images

English Football Association (FA) chairman Greg Clarke has resigned following a string of "unacceptable" comments in front of Members of Parliament earlier today.

Clarke, 63, used the term "colored" to describe people of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities during comments about gay footballers at the UK Government's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee. Some also interpreted comments he made about homosexuality as suggesting it was a lifestyle choice.

The comments brought swift condemnation from across the English game, with leading anti-racism group Kick It Out saying Clarke's words represented a "big step backwards" in attempts to improve diversity in the sport. That was echoed by Football V Homophobia, who warned that there were some who would use the FA chief's comments as "a way to prop up their homophobia".

Ultimately the outcry would prompt Clarke's resignation within a matter of hours though he insisted that he had been considering leaving his post for some time. He has been the FA's chairman since September 2016 having previously served as chairman of the English Football League (EFL) and Leicester City.

He will be replaced by vice chairman Peter McCormick on an interim basis.

"As a person who loves football and has given decades of service to our game, it is right that I put the interests of football first," Clarke said. "2020 has been a challenging year and I have been actively considering standing down for some time to make way for a new chair now our CEO transition is complete and excellent executive leadership under Mark Bullingham is established. 

"My unacceptable words in front of Parliament were a disservice to our game and to those who watch, play, referee and administer it. This has crystallized my resolve to move on. 

"I am deeply saddened that I have offended those diverse communities in football that I and others worked so hard to include. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues in the game for the wisdom and counsel they have shared over the years and resign from the FA with immediate effect."

A subsequent statement from the governing body itself added: "We would also like to reaffirm that as an organization, we are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to promote diversity, address inequality, and tackle all forms of discrimination in the game."

Clarke's departure brings to a swift end a tumultuous day for the Football Association, one which had begun with the FA chairman joining Premier League chief executive Richard Masters and EFL chief Richard Parry at a meeting of MPs from across the UK's political spectrum. Once the floor was ceded to Clarke and the parliamentarians he offered a disastrous performance riddled with comments that were swiftly condemned, even within the meeting itself.

Asked to explain why there is no openly gay man in the highest levels of the English game Clarke said: "The answer is I don't know, right, because I've spent a lot of time talking to people from the LGBT community. I've talked to LGBT athletes from other sports who have come out.

"The views I've heard is if I look at what happens to high-profile female footballers, high-profile colored footballers and the abuse they take on social media."

Further discussing the issue of gay footballers in his examination by MPs, Clarke added: "Anyone who runs out onto the pitch and on Monday says 'I am gay, I am proud of it and I am happy and it's a life choice and I have made it and my life is a better place because I have disclosed it'... I do believe they would have the support of their mates in the changing room."

It was not entirely clear whether Clarke meant to suggest that homosexuality is a life choice. Separately he said that the FA's IT department has "a lot more South Asians than there are Afro-Caribbeans", adding "they have different career interests". He also said that he had been told by a coach that young girls did not like having the ball kicked hard at them.

MP Kevin Brennan asked Clarke later in his appearance if he wished to apologize for using the word "colored" which the FA chairman did, saying that his time working the USA where he was "required to use the term 'people of color'" may have prompted him to "trip over my words".

The FA subsequently issued a separate apology but campaign groups were unimpressed by Clarke.

Kick It Out chairman Sanjay Bhandari said: "His use of outdated language to describe Black and Asian people as 'colored' is from decades ago and should remain consigned to the dustbin of history. Being gay is not a 'life choice' as he claimed too.

"I was particularly concerned by the use of lazy racist stereotypes about South Asians and their supposed career preferences...that kind of attitude may well partially explain why south Asians are statistically the most under-represented ethnic minority on the pitch.

"These comments indicate that more still needs to be done to challenge attitudes. For all the steps made forward recently, the comments expressed today are a big step backwards."

Bhandari's assessment was echoed Football v Homophobia, an international initiative that "exists to challenge discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression at all levels in football."

Campaign director Lou Englefield said: "The idea that being gay is a life choice is an outdated concept that many people will find deeply offensive.

"There are some people who will use a statement like this from the FA chairman as a way to prop up their homophobia.

"We are deeply disappointed that the FA have expressed this opinion alongside sexist opinions about girls and the use of racist language and stereotypes."

This was not the first occasion Clarke created problems for the FA in front of Members of Parliament. In 2017 he labelled allegations of institutional racism within the governing body as "fluff".