Greg Clarke was removed as FA chairman due to his racist and sexist comments.
Players like Aston Villa center back Tyrone Mings have done an excellent job as it pertains to trying to stamp out racism and bigotry in soccer. Unfortunately, those in power aren’t always as receptive to these messages, as evidenced by the resignation of Greg Clarke, who had been serving as the head of the English Football Association.
While referred to certain players as “colored” justifiably got the most outrage directed at him, Clarke’s resignation was also due to comments about South Asian players, gay players and women. These comments have justifiably cost Clarke his job, as he asserted these comments “crystallized my resolve to move on.”
Greg Clarke’s comments come right as Tyrone Mings discussing racism in soccer
Mings, who was racially abused when playing for the England National Team against Bulgaria in October 2019, was in the middle of a virtual news conference in which he was discussing these topics when Clarke was removed.
In addition to his remarks, Clarke claimed being gay was “a life choice”, claimed there aren’t enough good goalkeepers in women’s soccer because young girls don’t like having the ball kicked hard at them and claiming the lack of great South Asian players was due to different “career interests.” In defense of his last point, Clarke told critics to “go to the I.T. department at the FA.”
Despite his numerous regrettable comments, for which he has apologized, he somehow remains a vice-president with FIFA.
Getting racism fully out of soccer is going to be a long and arduous process, and people in positions of power uttering comments like what Clarke offered up is going to set that movement back. At least he was quickly removed from his post within the FA.