The Greg Clarke racism row has led to the former FA Chairman now vacating his vice-president role with FIFA.
FIFA Accepts Resignation as Racism Row Rumbles On
Greg Clarke Resigns From Second Role
Less than 48 hours after leaving his post as Chairman of the English Football Association, Greg Clarke has now resigned from his role with FIFA. Sky Sports News had been told by Clarke following his first resignation that he intended to remain in his vice-presidency role.
He said that this was “purely at the request of UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin to protect the UEFA vote.”
Things have moved on since, and with widespread condemnation of Clarke for his comments about, “high-profile coloured footballers”, Clarke himself advised that he should not continue in such a prestigious role.
What Was Said
Greg Clarke used the phrase when talking about the struggles for gay players to come out in public due to the fear of how people may respond on social media channels in particular. One member of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the Right Honourable Kevin Brennan MP, challenged Clarke and offered him the opportunity to withdraw his use of the word, ‘coloured.’
Mr Clarke responded to explain that: “If I said it, I deeply apologise for it,” Clarke replied. “Secondly, I am a product of having worked overseas, I worked in the USA for many years, where I was required to use the term ‘people of colour’ sometimes.”
Clarke has said that he feels his resignations are the correct actions to take and that he is ‘saddened’ to have offended ‘those diverse communities in football that I and others worked so hard to include.’
What Next for FIFA?
Following on from this Greg Clarke racism row, there will now be a recruitment process to replace him as FIFA vice-president. They are said to be keen to find another candidate from the home nations to take the role until March 2021. Then in March, a full time replacement will be announced.
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