EPL side Sunderland CEO Margaret Byrne admitted to a "serious error of judgment" in the wake of the Adam Johnson child abuse case after resigning from her position, according to Jason Mellor of the LONDON TIMES. Byrne on Tuesday left the £700,000 ($995,000)-a-year role after talks with Sunderland Owner Ellis Short, "bowing to mounting pressure for her to go in light of an episode that has left the club’s reputation in tatters." Byrne has come in for "strong criticism" after it was revealed in court that on May 4 last year she received transcripts of police interviews "in which Johnson confessed to kissing a schoolgirl and copies of 834 explicit WhatsApp messages with the 15-year-old." After reinstating Johnson after an initial two-week club suspension last year, Sunderland "sacked the former England midfielder only in February after he pleaded guilty" in court to grooming and one count of sexual activity with a child. Confirming that she knew Johnson "had kissed the girl," to whom she apologized, but that she "had not shared that information with any other member of staff at the club," she said, "I accept that Mr. Johnson should not have been permitted to play again, irrespective of what he was going to plead. It was a serious error of judgment and I accept full responsibility for this. ... Mr. Johnson’s victim has endured a terrible ordeal and for that I am truly sorry. At no time was the failure to suspend him again intended to cause any harm or distress to her or her family" (LONDON TIMES, 3/8). The BBC reported Byrne, who joined Sunderland in '07, said, "Contrary to what has been suggested, I did not understand that Mr. Johnson intended to change his plea at trial, or at all. I was astounded when he did plead guilty" (BBC, 3/8). The full statements by Byrne and Sunderland are available here.
