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| FA knew of Phil Neville tweets before making him England women’s manager | FA knew of Phil Neville tweets before making him England women’s manager |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Martha Kelner | Martha Kelner |
| Wed 24 Jan 2018 12.17 GMT | Wed 24 Jan 2018 12.17 GMT |
| First published on Wed 24 Jan 2018 11.53 GMT | First published on Wed 24 Jan 2018 11.53 GMT |
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| The Football Association knew about Phil Neville’s sexist tweets before appointing him as England women’s team manager and is under pressure to publicly explain its recruitment process amid mounting criticism. | The Football Association knew about Phil Neville’s sexist tweets before appointing him as England women’s team manager and is under pressure to publicly explain its recruitment process amid mounting criticism. |
| Neville apologised on Wednesday for the tweets in a statement released by the FA, saying they “are not a true and genuine reflection of either my character or beliefs”. That is unlikely to be the end of the matter, even though the governing body has said the former Manchester United player will not be charged over the messages because they “would not meet the threshold” for such action. | |
| The Guardian understands senior executives at the FA were fully aware of the series of tweets sent by the former footballer in 2011 and 2012, including one in which he makes light of domestic abuse. | The Guardian understands senior executives at the FA were fully aware of the series of tweets sent by the former footballer in 2011 and 2012, including one in which he makes light of domestic abuse. |
| Neville has deleted his Twitter account after the controversial postings came to light. One tweet sent in 2011, read: “Relax I’m back chilled – just battered the wife!!! Feel better now!” | Neville has deleted his Twitter account after the controversial postings came to light. One tweet sent in 2011, read: “Relax I’m back chilled – just battered the wife!!! Feel better now!” |
| In 2012 he posted: “Morning men couple of hours cricket be4 work sets me up nicely for the day!” | In 2012 he posted: “Morning men couple of hours cricket be4 work sets me up nicely for the day!” |
| When asked why he failed to mention women, Neville wrote: “When I said morning men I thought the women would of been busy preparing breakfast/getting kids ready/making the beds – sorry morning women!” | When asked why he failed to mention women, Neville wrote: “When I said morning men I thought the women would of been busy preparing breakfast/getting kids ready/making the beds – sorry morning women!” |
| The FA decided not to publicly explain it was aware of Neville’s tweets when it announced his appointment, using the men’s team’s Twitter account on Tuesday. | The FA decided not to publicly explain it was aware of Neville’s tweets when it announced his appointment, using the men’s team’s Twitter account on Tuesday. |
| Neville said on Wednesday: “Following comments made a number of years ago I would like to clarify that they were not and are not a true and genuine reflection of either my character or beliefs, and would like to apologise. | Neville said on Wednesday: “Following comments made a number of years ago I would like to clarify that they were not and are not a true and genuine reflection of either my character or beliefs, and would like to apologise. |
| “I am fully aware of my responsibilities as the England Women’s head coach and am immensely proud and honoured to have been given the role. I am now looking forward to the future and will work tirelessly to try and help bring success to the team.” | “I am fully aware of my responsibilities as the England Women’s head coach and am immensely proud and honoured to have been given the role. I am now looking forward to the future and will work tirelessly to try and help bring success to the team.” |
| It is understood a number of leading candidates for the women’s team job, male and female, dropped out of the recruitment process. But the appointment of Neville, who has little to no experience of the women’s game, has outraged many. | It is understood a number of leading candidates for the women’s team job, male and female, dropped out of the recruitment process. But the appointment of Neville, who has little to no experience of the women’s game, has outraged many. |
| Who is Phil Neville? | Who is Phil Neville? |
| Phil Neville is a former professional footballer who represented England and won several titles with his boyhood club Manchester United. The 41-year-old has now been appointed coach of the England women’s team, his first managerial role in the sport. | Phil Neville is a former professional footballer who represented England and won several titles with his boyhood club Manchester United. The 41-year-old has now been appointed coach of the England women’s team, his first managerial role in the sport. |
| How has his appointment been met? | How has his appointment been met? |
| The decision to give the job to Neville has proven controversial. Firstly this is down to his lack of experience as a coach, especially in the women’s game. It has also been reported that Neville did not apply for the vacancy until he was encouraged to do so by the Football Association. | The decision to give the job to Neville has proven controversial. Firstly this is down to his lack of experience as a coach, especially in the women’s game. It has also been reported that Neville did not apply for the vacancy until he was encouraged to do so by the Football Association. |
| Why has he become embroiled in a Twitter storm? | Why has he become embroiled in a Twitter storm? |
| Neville has come under scrutiny for messages he posted on the social media network. Several messages that could be construed as sexist were found on his account, including one particularly bad one about domestic abuse (seemingly intended as a "joke"). There was another about equal pay and an apparently earnest message which apologised for wishing good morning to his male followers only because “I thought the women would of [sic] been busy preparing breakfast”. Neville has now deactivated his account. | Neville has come under scrutiny for messages he posted on the social media network. Several messages that could be construed as sexist were found on his account, including one particularly bad one about domestic abuse (seemingly intended as a "joke"). There was another about equal pay and an apparently earnest message which apologised for wishing good morning to his male followers only because “I thought the women would of [sic] been busy preparing breakfast”. Neville has now deactivated his account. |
| Is this bad news for the Football Association? | Is this bad news for the Football Association? |
| The controversy carries extra resonance because Neville was the man chosen to replace Mark Sampson, the previous England women’s coach, who was removed after a scandal in which he was found to have made racially discriminatory comments to two England women’s players, Eni Aluko and Drew Spence. | The controversy carries extra resonance because Neville was the man chosen to replace Mark Sampson, the previous England women’s coach, who was removed after a scandal in which he was found to have made racially discriminatory comments to two England women’s players, Eni Aluko and Drew Spence. |
| Roisin Wood, the chief executive of Kick It Out, said: “Kick It Out have serious concerns over a recruitment process that has resulted in the appointment of someone with no record of management or experience in women’s football, and are making representations to the FA to ensure the governing body is transparent and accountable for their decision. | |
| “Following on from the announcement, Kick It Out was also made aware of alleged historical social media posts from Neville, which appear to show him making misogynistic and sexist comments. These have since been passed on to the FA.” | |
| Wood queried whether the FA would charge Neville and received a written response from Martin Glenn. “The assessment of the FA’s integrity/regulatory team is that those comments would not meet the threshold for issuing a charge against any participants [in football] but as part of the induction process, Phil will be educated on all aspects of the FA’s regulatory functions and his responsibilities thereunder,” the FA’s chief executive stated. | |
| The Women’s Sport Trust said in a statement: “To see a high-profile, former professional footballer virtually parachuted in to such a significant role in football without the level of experience required, undermines the coaching pathway. | The Women’s Sport Trust said in a statement: “To see a high-profile, former professional footballer virtually parachuted in to such a significant role in football without the level of experience required, undermines the coaching pathway. |
| “Despite the huge growth in the women’s game in recent years, this appointment has also highlighted that we still don’t have enough female coaches at the highest level. We are also saddened by Phil Neville’s historical tweets and the lack of comment about this from the FA. All individuals and organisations must be more aware of past sexist behaviour and respond to it appropriately.” | “Despite the huge growth in the women’s game in recent years, this appointment has also highlighted that we still don’t have enough female coaches at the highest level. We are also saddened by Phil Neville’s historical tweets and the lack of comment about this from the FA. All individuals and organisations must be more aware of past sexist behaviour and respond to it appropriately.” |
| England women's football team | England women's football team |
| The FA | The FA |
| Women's football | Women's football |
| news | news |
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