Malky Mackay has apologised for sending text messages that were “disrespectful of other cultures” after a day in which the Football Association launched an investigation into allegations of serious misconduct by the former Cardiff manager and former recruitment chief Iain Moody.
However, the League Managers’ Association, which transmitted his apology, risked exacerbating an already fraught situation when it put out a statement defending Mackay, admitting the existence of questionable text messages but claiming that he “was letting off steam to a friend during some friendly text message banter”.
There was immediate and widespread condemnation on Twitter, with the former Reading striker Jason Roberts, a high-profile anti-racism campaigner, saying: “LMA actually wrote this. They are actually being serious! Somebody drafted that … WOW!” Piara Powar, the executive director of the anti-discrimination body FARE, tweeted: “The LMA defending the indefensible. Why would you put out something so utterly ridiculous? Because you haven’t a clue.”
The LMA said in its statement: “In the course of a search by the club in early 2014 of 10,000 private text messages sent to and from another member of staff during Mr Mackay’s employment at Cardiff, in relation to other matters, it emerged that Malky had, it seems, sent a couple of one-line texts that were, with the benefit of hindsight, very regrettable and disrespectful of other cultures.
“These were two text messages sent in private at a time Malky felt under great pressure and when he was letting off steam to a friend during some friendly text message banter. That said, Malky believes he could and should have conducted himself better on these two isolated occasions. If Malky has caused any offence by these two isolated matters he would, however, wish to sincerely apologise.”
It added: “Malky is also very concerned about seriously inaccurate and misleading reports of his alleged involvement in these matters in the media. It has never been alleged that he wrote any homophobic or sexist messages and he has confirmed that he did not do so. Malky looks forward to matters being put straight in due course, following any investigation of this matter.”
A series of alleged racist, homophobic and sexist text messages, as well as information on a number of transfers at the Welsh club, were included in the dossier compiled by the Cardiff owner, Vincent Tan, and the London law firm Mishcon de Reya. Moody has stepped down from his role as Crystal Palace’s sporting director and Mackay’s appointment as manager was shelved by the south London club this week, with Keith Millen remaining in caretaker charge for Saturday’s Premier League match against West Ham.
Earlier in the year Moody’s home was searched for information regarding transfers. The former Cardiff head of recruitment was placed on gardening leave by the club last year, two months before the sacking of Mackay in December.
The former City manager initially demanded compensation from Tan to the sum of £7.5m but dropped his claim of unfair dismissal and apologised to the Malaysian businessman in May.
The FA took no action against the Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, when sexist emails from his work inbox were leaked to the press earlier this year, citing that its policy was not to act on “private communications”.
However, even if the Cardiff text messages in question were not meant for public consumption, The Kick It Out chairman, Lord Ouseley, said he supported action against all cases of prejudice and bigotry. “What you see at face value is not always reflective of the attitudes which are actually held deep down. It’s easy to present yourself as being reasonable and fair, and to behave in ways that hide prejudice and bias,” said Ouseley. “The governing bodies and the clubs must denounce such attitudes prevalent in the game, and take the appropriate action.”
A statement issued by Women in Football read: “In 2014 it should not be acceptable to make bigoted comments in the football workplace, irrespective of whether these are made publicly or privately. And yet this year has shown us that sexism is endemic in the game: in March, WiF’s groundbreaking survey revealed that 66% of women had witnessed sexism in the football workplace. This is a shameful statistic.”
The Premier League recently found Palace guilty of breaching rule B16 over the “spy-gate” scandal, stemming from the alleged leaking of Cardiff’s starting lineup before the two sides’ match in April last season.
SOURCE:http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/21/malky-mackay-texts-iain-moody-friendly-banter-league-managers-association
