Luton manager Mike Newell today apologised to female assistant referee Amy Rayner for his “ill-timed and out-of-order comments” about her performance during his side's defeat against QPR at the weekend.
MR SPLEEN'S MAN OF THE YEAR IN CLIMBDOWN
Luton manager Mike Newell today apologised to female assistant referee Amy Rayner for his “ill-timed and out-of-order comments” about her performance during his side's defeat against QPR at the weekend.
But with Luton having scheduled an emergency board meeting for 4pm today, Newell's future remains in grave doubt.
As well as condemning the presence of women referees in football as “tokenism for the politically-correct idiots”, Newell also used Saturday's post-match press conference to accuse club chairman Bill Tomlins of taking the club backwards.
But it was his former remarks - during which he also claimed Rayner “should not be here. I know that sounds sexist but I am sexist” - that have produced the greater uproar. The FA has already vowed to investigate the matter further.
“I want to apologise publicly to Amy Rayner and to anyone else I have offended,” he said. “The comments I made were ill-timed and out of order.
“I wanted to apologise privately before I apologised publicly, but I could not get hold of Amy Rayner. I have not spoken to her, but I have left messages and I will continue to try to speak to her.”