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| Richard Scudamore under pressure to resign over 'sexist' emails | Richard Scudamore under pressure to resign over 'sexist' emails |
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| The member of the Football Association's Inclusion Advisory Board who initially called for Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore to be charged over sexist emails has said his position is now untenable. | The member of the Football Association's Inclusion Advisory Board who initially called for Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore to be charged over sexist emails has said his position is now untenable. |
| Edward Lord, who will meet with other members of the IAB on Tuesday to discuss the issue and the Premier League's response, said that the contents of an email to the clubs from Scudamore on Saturday night left him open to the charge of being insincere in his subsquent apology. | Edward Lord, who will meet with other members of the IAB on Tuesday to discuss the issue and the Premier League's response, said that the contents of an email to the clubs from Scudamore on Saturday night left him open to the charge of being insincere in his subsquent apology. |
| In the note to the 20 clubs, essentially the League's shareholders who hold his fate in their hands, Scudamore said the story "'had been obviously timed for our last day for it to cause maximum embarrassment to me and therefore the Premier League. The newspaper is asserting that some of the content is sexist and inappropriate. You will be the judge." | In the note to the 20 clubs, essentially the League's shareholders who hold his fate in their hands, Scudamore said the story "'had been obviously timed for our last day for it to cause maximum embarrassment to me and therefore the Premier League. The newspaper is asserting that some of the content is sexist and inappropriate. You will be the judge." |
| Lord claimed that the email showed Scudamore did not believe his comments, which included sexist jokes and a warning to a lawyer friend to keep a female colleague they nicknamed Edna "off your shaft" as part of an exchange about golf, were indeed inappropriate. | Lord claimed that the email showed Scudamore did not believe his comments, which included sexist jokes and a warning to a lawyer friend to keep a female colleague they nicknamed Edna "off your shaft" as part of an exchange about golf, were indeed inappropriate. |
| "This seeming refusal to accept that the content of his emails were in fact sexist and inappropriate to my mind completely undermines his public apology, and leads to only one conclusion: that it was insincere and therefore unsustainable in the court of public opinion," said Lord. | "This seeming refusal to accept that the content of his emails were in fact sexist and inappropriate to my mind completely undermines his public apology, and leads to only one conclusion: that it was insincere and therefore unsustainable in the court of public opinion," said Lord. |
| "If it is that Richard Scudamore didn't believe that what he had written was wrong less than a week ago, I think that it is highly unlikely that he has come to that conclusion in any reality since. On that basis it appears to me that his position is now looking untenable." | "If it is that Richard Scudamore didn't believe that what he had written was wrong less than a week ago, I think that it is highly unlikely that he has come to that conclusion in any reality since. On that basis it appears to me that his position is now looking untenable." |
| Meanwhile, the lawyer with whom Scudamore exchanged the emails is under investigation by the City law firm that employs him. | Meanwhile, the lawyer with whom Scudamore exchanged the emails is under investigation by the City law firm that employs him. |
| Nick West, a sports broadcasting lawyer with DLA Piper who has worked with the Premier League for some time, made a string of sexist remarks according to the Sunday Mirror. | |
| A DLA Piper spokesperson: 'We uphold the highest professional standards as a firm and this matter is being fully investigated.' | A DLA Piper spokesperson: 'We uphold the highest professional standards as a firm and this matter is being fully investigated.' |
| Scudamore will attend a scheduled meeting of the Premier League's audit and remuneration committee on Monday that will discuss whether he should face action over the emails. | Scudamore will attend a scheduled meeting of the Premier League's audit and remuneration committee on Monday that will discuss whether he should face action over the emails. |
| West also referred to women as "gash". The emails were seen by a former temporary PA who leaked them to the Sunday Mirror. | West also referred to women as "gash". The emails were seen by a former temporary PA who leaked them to the Sunday Mirror. |
| Scudamore, who emphasised they were "private emails exchanged between colleagues and friends of many years" and which should not have been accessed by his PA, nevertheless apologised and said: "It was an error of judgment that I will not make again." | Scudamore, who emphasised they were "private emails exchanged between colleagues and friends of many years" and which should not have been accessed by his PA, nevertheless apologised and said: "It was an error of judgment that I will not make again." |
| When the FA said on Monday that it was unable to charge Scudamore with bringing the game into disrepute because it was a private matter, many within the organisation were aghast that it had not also condemned the views expressed in the emails. | When the FA said on Monday that it was unable to charge Scudamore with bringing the game into disrepute because it was a private matter, many within the organisation were aghast that it had not also condemned the views expressed in the emails. |
| But following intense criticism from politicians and equality groups, senior figures from the FA including Dyke and the general secretary, Alex Horne, made it clear that they also disapproved. | But following intense criticism from politicians and equality groups, senior figures from the FA including Dyke and the general secretary, Alex Horne, made it clear that they also disapproved. |
| In a letter to Lord, which was copied to the acting Premier League chairman, Peter McCormick, Dyke said: "In terms of FA disciplinary policy we, as the FA, could have considered taking action had Mr Scudamore's statements been made in the public arena. | In a letter to Lord, which was copied to the acting Premier League chairman, Peter McCormick, Dyke said: "In terms of FA disciplinary policy we, as the FA, could have considered taking action had Mr Scudamore's statements been made in the public arena. |
| "However our policy has always been that we do not consider something stated in a private email communication to amount to professional misconduct. We do, however, consider the content of the emails to be totally inappropriate." | "However our policy has always been that we do not consider something stated in a private email communication to amount to professional misconduct. We do, however, consider the content of the emails to be totally inappropriate." |
| Dyke's comments went significantly further than the official FA statement issued on Monday, as did an email to staff from Horne, who wrote: "It is important I communicate to all staff how disappointed all of us are in the tone and nature of the content of these emails, which we believe is totally inappropriate. | Dyke's comments went significantly further than the official FA statement issued on Monday, as did an email to staff from Horne, who wrote: "It is important I communicate to all staff how disappointed all of us are in the tone and nature of the content of these emails, which we believe is totally inappropriate. |
| "Richard is not an employee of the FA and the matter is one for the Premier League to address considering their respective policies. The issue is something we will continue to monitor." | "Richard is not an employee of the FA and the matter is one for the Premier League to address considering their respective policies. The issue is something we will continue to monitor." |
| But one former FA executive said he believed that the governing body did have the power to charge Scudamore, but had chosen not to. "The Premier League is a personal fiefdom and has been structured as such to protect those with power," he said. The Premier League audit and remuneration committee that will consider the case is chaired by Chelsea's chairman, Bruce Buck, and also includes the Manchester United director David Gill and the Stoke City chairman, Peter Coates. | But one former FA executive said he believed that the governing body did have the power to charge Scudamore, but had chosen not to. "The Premier League is a personal fiefdom and has been structured as such to protect those with power," he said. The Premier League audit and remuneration committee that will consider the case is chaired by Chelsea's chairman, Bruce Buck, and also includes the Manchester United director David Gill and the Stoke City chairman, Peter Coates. |