West Ham United sack director Tony Henry over ‘unacceptable’ race remarks
Written by News on 03/02/2018
West Ham United have sacked director Tony Henry amid claims he said African players “can have a bad attitude” and “cause mayhem”.
The club said its director of player recruitment had been dismissed with immediate effect over the “unacceptable comments” after he was suspended on Thursday.
“Our action follows a full and thorough investigation,” it said. “West Ham United will not tolerate any type of discrimination.
“The West Ham United family is an inclusive one where, regardless of gender, age, ability, race, religion or sexual orientation, everybody feels welcome and included.”
Mr Henry allegedly made the remarks to a newspaper after it obtained a leaked email in which he is reported to have written: “We don’t want any more Africans.”
The Daily Mail claimed Mr Henry sent the email on 27 January to another senior West Ham official and an agent in response to an inquiry about a Cameroonian footballer.
When the newspaper approached the football director for a response, he highlighted “problems” with former striker Diafra Sakho, who left the club on Monday for French side Rennes.
He also reportedly said the club “had three and we felt we didn’t particularly want any more African players”. He said there was “no reason” for that decision, and it was “nothing racist at all”.
“It’s just sometimes they can have a bad attitude, ” he is reported to have said. “We had problems with Sakho, with Diafra Sakho. We find that when they are not in the team they cause mayhem. It’s nothing against the African race at all.
“I mean, look, there are top African players. There’s not a problem with them. It’s just sometimes they cause a lot of problems when they are not playing, as we had with Diafra. He’s left, so great. It’s nothing personal at all.”
It was then put to Mr Henry that his remarks could be seen as discriminatory, to which he replied: “In what way?”
He told the newspaper: “Look, we have a great lad in (Cheikhou) Kouyate. He’s brilliant – a great player for us. He’s a good lad.
“But the likes of Sakho have caused mayhem. When he’s not playing…he always wants a new deal. That’s all it was. It was nothing discriminatory at all.”
The Football Association is investigating the issue.
West Ham manager David Moyes has since tried to distance the club from the alleged comments.
“The comments are wrong. We were signing two players from Africa on deadline day so I can only say they are wrong,” he said.
“You can see the players the club has signed over the years – we sign good quality players, the best we can get. It doesn’t matter where they are from.”
(c) Sky News 2018: West Ham United sack director Tony Henry over ‘unacceptable’ race remarks
