Premier League has 'closed culture of sexism', says FA's Heather Rabbatts
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Version 0 of 1. Heather Rabbatts, the Football Association's only female director and chair of its inclusion board, has accused the Premier League of having a "closed culture of sexism" and said its chief executive, Richard Scudamore, should give "serious consideration" to his position in light of the storm over leaked offensive emails. The intervention by Rabbatts, one of two independent FA directors, ramps up the pressure on Scudamore and the Premier League audit and remuneration committee, chaired by Chelsea's Bruce Buck, which will meet on Monday to decide his fate. Rabbatts, a former chair of Millwall and a former BBC governor, said that despite its commercial success the Premier League had abdicated its responsibility to "behave responsibly and have in place proper lines of accountability and good governance". "Sadly, recent events appear to show that these things are currently lacking in the administration of the Premier League and, indeed, there is growing evidence of a closed culture of sexism, symbolised in the email exchanges which have been made public," she added. Scudamore, the most powerful man in English football, has been chief executive of the Premier League for 15 years and overseen a huge growth in broadcasting revenues to £5.5bn. But his position has come increasingly under threat since the Sunday Mirror published leaked emails sent from his office account that had been seen by a former PA. In the original exchange he warns Nick West, a City lawyer who works with the Premier League on broadcasting deals, to keep a female colleague they nicknamed Edna "off your shaft", and trades sexist jokes. West, who referred to women as "gash", is now under investigation by his firm, DLA Piper, and could face disciplinary action. On Friday it emerged that the Premier League's sponsor, Barclays, had privately conveyed its "deep disappointment" at the contents of the emails and a number of current members of the women's England team spoke out against Scudamore. Rabbatts added: "It is increasingly clear that steps are needed as a matter of urgency to review governance at the Premier League with a view to improving accountability and tackling head on a culture that demeans women and seems to discourage their involvement in the game's administration. "These challenges go beyond the current situation of chief executive Richard Scudamore. However, if the league are to move forward in a positive way, then he and they should give serious consideration to his position in the coming days." The four-person audit and remuneration committee that will meet on Monday comprises Buck, Stoke City chairman Peter Coates, Manchester United director David Gill and former Blackburn Rovers chairman John Williams. Their recommendation will be put to the 20 clubs at their annual shareholders' meeting in Harrogate on 5-6 June. But before then, the FA's inclusion advisory board, which is chaired by Rabbatts, will meet on Tuesday to consider its response. One member of the board, sports administrator Edward Lord, has already claimed that Scudamore's position is untenable. The FA has said the matter is outside its remit, but the chairman, Greg Dyke, has registered his disappointment and the sports minister, Helen Grant, has called the comments "completely unacceptable". Rabbatts called for an urgent review of the Premier League's governance arrangements. "I personally hope that progress can be made on all of these fronts so that we can feel confident that the leaders of football are accountable for their actions and support a culture that genuinely welcomes the participation of women and girls in our national game," she said. The Premier League, which has hired a crisis management specialist to help deal with the storm, has written to the clubs advising them to hold off responding to a request for comment from the campaign group Women in Football, which says it has heard from many senior figures across the game who are dismayed with the way the matter has been handled. The email, sent by director of policy Bill Bush and seen by the Observer, said: "You can of course respond as you see fit, but we would suggest that as the media reporting has been inaccurate and many key facts have not yet been disclosed (and legal proceedings continue), you may wish to send a holding reply and the Premier League acting chairman, Peter McCormick, will give them a full response as soon as possible." |