FA chairman Greg Clarke apologises for derogatory term
The FA chairman referred to "high-profile coloured footballers" in a meeting with a parliamentary committee but later issued an apology.
FA chairman Greg Clarke has apologised for his use of the term "coloured" in a meeting with a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.
Clarke attended the meeting with the UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee alongside Premier League chief Richard Masters and EFL boss Rick Parry.
The trio were called to discuss a number of matters in English football, including Project Big Picture and the sport's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
But when asked about abuse athletes receive on social media, Clarke referred to "high-profile coloured footballers" in his response.
Clarke was offered the opportunity to withdraw the comment and subsequently apologised.
FA: "Greg Clarke is deeply apologetic for the language he used"
The clearest example of racial profiling that you will see.
— Stan Collymore ❤️🖤 (@StanCollymore) November 10, 2020
And seeing so many particularly white men commenting "he's nice, he's just old, his heart is in the right place", is why racism is moving forward, not in retreat.
Always an excuse for it.
pic.twitter.com/E6GFJMoIt4
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The FA promptly released a statement on the matter, which read: "Greg Clarke is deeply apologetic for the language he used to reference members of the ethnic minority community during the select committee hearing today.
"He acknowledged that using the term 'coloured' is not appropriate and wholeheartedly apologised during the hearing."