Quote of the Day
“This is a racist chairman hiring a racist manager. I hope that stops at two racists in Wigan, not snowballing to 2,000 or 20,000 racists in Wigan.”
Revenge is a dish best served cold, they say and in the case of Cardiff City owner, Vincent Tan, it is also a dish served as often as possible.
The Cardiff owner sacked Malky Mackay last year, but he was not finished with him and when was alooked set to be appointed by Crystal Palace, the Malaysian businessman released a set of texts and emails between Mackay and his former colleague Iain Moody containing homophobic, sexist and anti-semitic content.
It appeared to signal the death knell of Mackay’s promising managerial career, but earlier this week, just a year after the email scandal, he was named the new boss of Championship side Wigan Athletic.
At Wigan, in owner Dave Whelan, Mackay appears to have found a kindred spirit, one who during the course of an ill-advised defence of his appoinment, managed to cause considerable offence to Chinese and Jewish people.
“Age doesn’t matter in this,” said Tan, a reference to the fact that at 77, Whelan may have some outmoded ideas about race. “The fact is he’s a leader of a big football club, he’s sending the wrong message to the followers and supporters in the club, he’s telling them it’s all right to be a racist.
“Do you think that is proper? So I am asking whether he is fit and proper to be chairman of a football club in the UK for what he has said.”
“I think the FA should take action, but I’ll leave it to the FA.”
The Football Association has already confirmed it will investigate Whelan’s comments.
Whelan is a straight-talker, the type of person who prides himself on his ability to call a spade a spade. Unfortunately, and unforgivably, he appears to be the type of person who would call a black person a spade too. Is there a place for someone like this in modern day football? Sadly, at Wigan, there appears to be. Should there be? Definitely not.
