Ex-Leeds employee Lucy Ward wants answers over FA inaction in wrongful dismissal tribunal

  • Lucy Ward wants the DCMS select committee to look into her treatment by FA 
  • Ex-Leeds education officer won a wrongful dismissal case against club in 2015
  • Her legal team believe there was case for FA to charge club officials
  • Ward's camp are exasperated by the FA's lack of action, who only wrote a letter

The beleaguered FA face having to explain their chronic lack of action over another case involving women in football.

Representatives of ex-Leeds United education officer Lucy Ward, who won a wrongful dismissal and sex discrimination case against the club, want the DCMS select committee to look into her treatment by the FA at the same time the Mark Sampson affair is dissected by MPs.

The tribunal found that Ward, who built a fine reputation in 17 years at Elland Road, had been sacked because she was the partner of Leeds manager Neil Redfearn, who lost his job in 2015.

Ex-Leeds employee Lucy Ward was dismissed at the same time as her partner Neil Redfearn

Ex-Leeds employee Lucy Ward was dismissed at the same time as her partner Neil Redfearn

A tribunal found the club, the owned by Massimo Cellino, guilty of wrongful dismissal

A tribunal found the club, the owned by Massimo Cellino, guilty of wrongful dismissal

Ward, now working for the Premier League, was awarded £290,000 by the tribunal. She had accused the Leeds trio of Massimo Cellino, Adam Pearson and Stuart Hayton of blatant sex discrimination.


Ward's legal team believe there was a strong case for the FA to bring charges against those three Leeds individuals, despite the fact only one of them, Ipswich secretary Hayton, is still working in English football.

Ward's camp are exasperated by the lack of action by the FA, who are understood to have only written a tame letter to Leeds.

Ward was suspended at the same time as her partner, axed boss Neil Redfearn, in 2015

Ward was suspended at the same time as her partner, axed boss Neil Redfearn, in 2015

 

UEFA have halted the gravy train which allowed delegates to bring partners to events with all expenses paid. 

So FA of Ireland chief John Delaney will have to fork out in future for having ever-present partner Emma English alongside him on UEFA business. However, former model Emma is listed as part of the official FAI party for their World Cup qualifier against Wales in Cardiff on October 9.

FAI chief John Delaney now has to fork out to have Emma English with him on UEFA business 

FAI chief John Delaney now has to fork out to have Emma English with him on UEFA business 

 

John Alexander's retirement as Manchester United secretary has prompted a revamp that will see his workload shared four ways. Some of it will go to the legal department and the rest to three new appointments, a football operations director, who will handle all travel plans, plus a football secretary and an academy secretary.

Manager Jose Mourinho had a difficult relationship with Alexander and regularly got upset about the logistics of United away trips — for example, having to travel back by coach from a Monday night FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Chelsea.

Alexander is a Liverpool fan and did not please United fans by singing You'll Never Walk Alone in the Anfield directors' box on a European night.

John Alexander's retirement as Manchester United secretary has prompted a club revamp

John Alexander's retirement as Manchester United secretary has prompted a club revamp

 

Besieged FA chief executive Martin Glenn, with plenty of people calling for his head over the Mark Sampson furore, is fortunate that relations between the FA and the all-powerful Premier League are better than for some time. 

On top of that, the Government are supportive of the work Glenn has done since arriving at Wembley.

 

Brooking's the fall guy

The FA's internal investigation into the Mark Sampson affair has to get to the bottom of who told what to whom about the safeguarding report on the coach's conduct at Bristol Academy.

It seems the FA are happy to hang Sir Trevor Brooking out to dry, shamelessly name-checking him at the press conference last Wednesday for heading Sampson's appointment panel.

It seems the FA are happy to hang Sir Trevor Brooking out to dry over the Mark Sampson affair

It seems the FA are happy to hang Sir Trevor Brooking out to dry over the Mark Sampson affair

At the same time, they are protecting technical director Dan Ashworth and Sue Ravenlaw, head of safeguarding, who should have been more pro-active in alerting the top brass to Sampson's behaviour at Bristol.

It is claimed by the FA that Ravenlaw, or her safeguarding colleagues, told the necessary details to head of human resources Mel Millner, but that is denied by Millner.

 

Amazon Prime are set to sign their first Premier League behind-the-scenes documentary deal with Manchester City. 

Extra cameras in the tunnel at the Etihad Stadium sparked speculation that the contract with Amazon had already been agreed, which it hasn't. But the footage for City's in-house TV station could easily be made available to Amazon once the deal for a season's access has been rubber-stamped.

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