Peter Beardsley gets football ban after ‘obviously racist’ comments

Former England and Newcastle player Peter Beardsley has been banned from all football-related activity for 32 weeks.

It comes after he was found guilty of making comments on three occasions that were “obviously racist” and “wholly unacceptable” during his time as the coach of the Magpies’ under-23 players.

A formal complaint was made in January last year about 58-year-old Beardsley by midfielder Yasin Ben El-Mhanni, who has since left the club.

It was alleged Beardsley used abusive and/or insulting words towards under-23 players but he denied the allegations.

“I’m not a bully, and I’m not a racist,” he said at a public speaking event in Gateshead in March – the same month he left his role as the academy coach following a 14-month internal investigation.

The Football Association charged Beardsley with three breaches of rule E3 and the allegations were accepted by an independent regulatory commission.

Beardsley has now been banned from the game by the FA for eight months until next April and has been ordered to complete a face-to-face education course.

The commission said: “We regret the outcome that we have felt compelled to reach in this case. Mr Beardsley is a towering figure in football and his footballing reputation is beyond question.

“But on the three occasions which are the subject of the charges, he made remarks which were obviously racist and were wholly unacceptable. Even if he did not intend to do so, he plainly did cause offence.

“It is particularly important at a time when racism in football is prevalent that remarks of the kind made by Mr Beardsley are punished severely.”

It added: “We are satisfied that Mr Beardsley is not a racist in the sense of being ill-disposed to persons on grounds of their race or ethnicity.

“He is now 58 years of age. It is also relevant that he has not had the benefit of training and education about offensive racist remarks and the importance of not making them.”

Beardsley has expressed his disappointment at the decision but vowed to return to football.

A statement released on his behalf by his solicitors said: “Peter Beardsley is very surprised and disappointed by the decision of the regulatory commission.

“It was almost impossible for Peter to clear his name because of the serious flaws and contamination of evidence that occurred in the disciplinary process before Newcastle United and by the unusual fact that the FA rules put the burden of proof on him to prove his innocence in the proceedings.

“After a long process which has been unnecessarily protracted, Peter feels vindicated that the commission has expressly found that he is not a racist.”

Newcastle-born Beardsley made more than 300 appearances for the club as a player during two spells and also had 59 England caps.

(c) Sky News 2019: Peter Beardsley gets football ban after ‘obviously racist’ comments