Dan Ashworth position at FA ‘untenable’, says Dame Heather Rabbatts

Dame Heather Rabbatts believes Dan Ashworth’s position as the Football Association’s technical director is now “untenable” and feels he has presided over the development of a “monoculture” at St George’s Park.
As Rabbatts, a Jamaican-born former FA board member, cast doubt on Ashworth’s suitability to lead the hunt for a new national women’s team manager to replace the sacked Mark Sampson, Fara Williams suggested it would be possible for Eni Aluko to be reintegrated into England’s “welcoming but challenging” dressing-room culture.
The veteran midfielder said that, provided Aluko was prepared to show the same “effort and commitment” as any other England player, the striker could conceivably add to her 102 caps.
Along with Greg Clarke, the FA chairman, and Martin Glenn, the chief executive, Ashworth is under scrutiny after three inquiries were needed to establish that Sampson – appointed by the technical director – made discriminatory comments towards Aluko and her Chelsea team-mate Drew Spence.
“I think his [Ashworth’s] position is untenable,” said Rabbatts, who stood down from her position in June. “He’s been there since 2012 and these issues have been raised – a lack of diversity, a lack of black coaches, the issue of Mark Sampson and Eni, these have all happened.
“Something has to change. One of the reasons I left [the FA] slightly early in terms of being the first person of colour, the first woman on that board, is that this issue of the national football centre at St George’s Park, which should be leading best practice, is a monoculture. That’s not acceptable.
“In a way the story starts, not from the failures of internal investigations but where you have a culture where comments can be made, and clearly were made, and there isn’t an instant reaction that those comments were wrong and inappropriate.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek programme, Rabbatts also said the “jury is out” on Glenn’s position but felt Clarke should be given more time to address the issues facing the FA.
Sampson was sacked last month for what the governing body described as “inappropriate and unacceptable” behaviour in a previous job managing Bristol Academy. Last Wednesday the FA apologised to Aluko and her Chelsea team-mate Drew Spence for his racially discriminatory remarks. England’s former coach was described as having made “ill-judged attempts at humour” by Katharine Newton, the investigating barrister, who nonetheless did not conclude that he was racist. Sampson is now set to the take the FA to an employment tribunal.
Aluko has not played for the national side since raising complaints in an internal FA review in May 2016. Although Mo Marley, England’s interim manager, has said the door remains open for the Chelsea striker there is a sense it could be difficult for her to return to a squad which was largely loyal to Sampson and includes players said to be “shattered” by his dismissal.
Williams, though, does not rule out a prospective return for the 30-year-old. “This is a good environment,” she said after England’s 1-0 friendly defeat against France in Valenciennes on Friday. “If you were to spend a week with us, you’d see how welcoming and challenging it is. It’s challenging in a good way. Eni is more than welcome to be in this environment.
“I haven’t spoken to Eni but I think she’ll know that, from the players’ point of view, if you give the same effort and commitment as any other England player does, then why not? She has 102 England caps and you don’t get those for no reason.”
With Marley saying that only players selected regularly for their clubs will be considered, Aluko would need to re‑establish herself in Chelsea’s first XI. Deployed purely as a substitute so far this season by Emma Hayes, she has not played a competitive 90 minutes since the WSL Spring Series.
Williams disagrees with suggestions that the current culture in the England camp makes it difficult for players to voice unhappiness or grievances. “If I was feeling a certain way, first of all I would speak to a team-mate. That’s the right thing to do and then you find the right staff member. We all have good relationships with different staff members, it doesn’t have to be the manager. There are people to speak to.
“My issues were completely different to Eni’s but I’ve had problems off the pitch that I found really hard to deal with over the last couple of years. I’ve had different staff members that I was able to talk to and helped me. I’ve been well supported. But different players react differently to things. People take things differently.”
Jill Scott, also speaking in Valenciennes, defended the entire England team’s decision to race to embrace Sampson after scoring in the 6-0 World Cup qualifying win against Russia at Tranmere last month. The midfielder said the celebration was “heartfelt’ and it was “wrong” to “question our integrity”.
A committee of four senior players led by England’s captain, Steph Houghton, will offer their opinions to Ashworth on Sampson’s potential successor. Along with Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA’s head of women’s football, the technical director will then interview shortlisted candidates in early December, with an appointment scheduled for January. But Ashworth’s continuing involvement has left Rabbatts despairing.
“Sampson and Eni Aluko happened on his watch and he is leading the search to replace Sampson,” the former Millwall deputy executive chair said. “So when the FA say things are going to change, what is going to change?
“This is about professional judgment. It’s not that Ashworth hasn’t tried but that’s not enough. If you were to talk to black coaches who feel they’re never going to get these roles, then it has to be time for a change. There is a view that these issues of diversity are not as important as the ‘big stuff’, the budgets and the profitability, but all the profits the FA has will not buy back its reputation.”

SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS
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