The Football Association has received a second complaint about its investigation into the 2014 racism case involving David Elleray and a former black employee.
The FA had already been sent one recent complaint against Elleray, one of the most powerful officials in world football, that alleged the way the incident was handled seven years ago amounted to a cover-up.
The governing body strongly deny this claim, but i understands it has since received correspondence from another former member of staff who claims to have witnessed the racist incident and was interviewed as part of the investigation, questioning the process.
The FA maintains that a thorough investigation was carried out at the time after it emerged that Elleray, now chair of the FA’s referee committee and technical director of the International Football Association Board (Ifab), had said during a referee conference to a former black FA employee “you look rather tanned” and “have you been down a coal mine?”
The FA said on Monday it would “look into” any “further allegations [that] came to light that had not previously been investigated”, although the governing body did not elaborate if this included allegations of a cover-up within its own organisation.
In 2014, the FA said it investigated the incident despite not receiving an official complaint and concluded that Elleray had breached the FA Council Members’ code of conduct. Elleray apologised unreservedly for his actions, was reminded of the code and took a mandatory diversity and inclusion training course.
i revealed last week that a whistleblower, who was also at the referee conference and wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, had called for the FA to launch an independent investigation into the incident.
Elleray has been involved in a series of controversies. In 2018, former referee Mark Clattenburg accused Elleray of “bullying” him. The FA did not investigate the claim, as no formal complaint was made. Two years later, Elleray was also accused of fat-shaming after telling a group of aspiring officials: “There are too many beards, tattoos and beer bellies in this room.” Elleray did not deny making the comment, but said it was likely he was making a point about the importance of appearance.
An FA spokesperson said: “The FA investigated inappropriate comments made by David Elleray in 2014 and found that he breached The FA Council Members’ code of conduct. He apologised unreservedly for his actions. Nonetheless, as a result, Mr Elleray was ordered to undertake mandatory diversity and inclusion training and was reminded of his responsibilities as an FA Council Member.
“The FA has made great strides in recent years and continues on its journey to ensure that there is a zero-tolerance approach towards discrimination both on and off the pitch. This commitment is reiterated in our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, A Game For All, which was published earlier this year.
“We will always thoroughly investigate any incidents or allegations of discrimination, taking appropriate action when necessary. In the event any further allegations came to light that had not previously been investigated, they would be looked into. Delivering a game free from discrimination remains core to the values and strategy of the organisation.”
Elleray was approached for comment via the FA and Ifab last week but has not responded.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3lGrY4E
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