Wales

FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford cleared over "definitely not English" remark

By Giuseppe Labellarte, ReporterPublished: 14 December 2017 6:36 PM

The Football Association of Wales will not take action against Jonathan Ford for saying that the next Wales manager could be "foreign", but "definitely not English".

The Football Association of Wales has announced that chief executive Jonathan Ford will face no disciplinary action over comments made about the nationality of the next Wales manager.

Ford appeared to rule English managers out of the running to replace former Wales boss Chris Coleman, who left his role with the national side to join Sunderland in November.

The FAW had set up a three-person panel to investigate an interview in which Ford said: "We have always favoured Welsh people because arguably the passion is there.

"Somebody said this earlier, Welsh most definitely, foreign possibly but definitely not English."

However, the FAW has met with Ford and has accepted that his comments were taken out of context, opting to draw a line under the matter.

A FAW statement read: "The CEO has clarified comments made in a media interview, where he repeated details of a previous conversation, in which a third party stated that the search for a National Team Manager should preclude an English applicant.

"Following the discussions today, it was accepted that the documented comments were taken out of context and not in the manner in which they were intended.

"The FAW and CEO will conduct a search for the new manager in an open and objective fashion, the appointee will be the best person for the role.

"The CEO has apologised for the statement and the FAW officers, having reviewed the situation, do not propose to take the matter any further.

"The Officers of the Association fully support the CEO Jonathan Ford, acknowledge the significant achievements in taking Welsh football forward over the last eight years and look forward to continue to work together in the future."

Ford will continue to lead the search for Coleman's successor, with a six-man panel looking to judge the candidates with a view to appointing a new manager by the end of January.