England women’s head coach Phil Neville will not be charged over historical sexist remarks made on social media, the Football Association has said.
The comments – made in 2012 and 2011 – came to light in the media the same day he was appointed in his new role.
In a letter to Kick it Out, FA chief executive Martin Glenn said background checks were done on Neville but did not reveal the comments in question.
He added they “would not meet the threshold for issuing a charge”.
He also confirmed Neville, awarded a contract until 2021, would be warned about his future conduct but said the 41-year-old took the decision to delete his Twitter account alone.
“Phil will be educated on all aspects of the FA’s regulatory functions and his responsibilities,” Glenn wrote.
“He will also be warned that any future comments that are deemed to cross the charging threshold will be treated with the utmost seriousness and may lead to disciplinary action.”
He added: “The background vetting highlighted some but not all the historic social media comments. For clarity, we were only made aware of some of those comments through the media reporting [on Tuesday].”
Roisin Wood, chief executive of anti-discrimination body Kick it Out, who originally questioned the FA over whether Neville would be charged for making what appeared to be “misogynistic and sexist comments”, responded to Glenn’s letter on Wednesday evening.
“The FA may also have created a problem for itself in what appears to be double standards regarding the threshold for what social media posts are considered discriminatory,” she said.
“They may find it difficult or even impossible to bring charges against those under investigation presently, or in future.”Neville apologised earlier on Wednesday after suggesting in one tweet that women would be too “busy making breakfast/getting kids ready” to read his messages.
Other users picked up on comments Neville had made when interacting with his sister and with his wife – and one in which he joked he had “just battered the wife”.
The former Manchester United and Valencia coach, who has no experience in the women’s game, said his comments were not “a true and genuine reflection of either my character or beliefs”.
Neville’s wife Julie took to Instagram to support her husband, saying: “In response to some of things I’ve been reading about my husband over the past 24 hours, I would like to point out that Phil is the most honest, kind, generous, gentle and hard working man I have ever met.”
Neville’s twin sister, England netball head coach Tracey Neville, also tweeted a message of support for her brother, saying: “He has spent his life showing support to me as a sister, athlete and coach.”
Discover more from Nehanda Radio
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
