The FA announced that neither former League Championship side Cardiff City Manager Malky Mackay nor his head of recruitment Iain Moody "would be charged for their part in the text message scandal which engulfed English football last summer" and was reignited when Mackay was "subsequently appointed by Wigan Athletic," according to Sam Wallace of the London INDEPENDENT. Mackay was sacked by Wigan in April, and with neither "currently working in football both will hope the verdict gives them a chance to begin rebuilding their careers." The FA said that it "could not bring a case against the pair" on the basis that the text messages, obtained by Cardiff's lawyers through a search order on Moody's office, had a "legitimate expectation of privacy." It was the same when the FA "examined emails of a sexist nature" sent by EPL CEO Richard Scudamore in May last year. However, the FA "did embark on an investigation into whether a culture of racism and wider discrimination existed during Mackay's time in charge of Cardiff." Having spoken to 27 individuals in the U.K. and overseas, the FA's compliance department "decided that was not the case" (INDEPENDENT, 7/16).
KICK IT OUT SLAMS DECISION: The PA reported anti-racism campaigners have accused the FA of
"damaging its own credibility and undermining its stance on
discrimination" after deciding not to charge Mackay. Kick it Out, "which seeks to tackle racism and discrimination within football, has hit out at the decision." It said in a statement, "Kick It Out is of the view that the Football Association has damaged its own credibility and anti-discrimination policies by taking the decision not to charge former Cardiff City and Wigan Athletic manager Malky Mackay and Iain Moody, a former employee of Cardiff and Crystal Palace, for alleged racist, antisemitic, sexist and homophobic comments revealed by the Daily Mail in August 2014" (PA, 7/16).
