Former Bristol Rovers player Marcus Bignot has lost his job and received a ban from the Football Association after he aimed homophobic abuse at a rival manager.
Birmingham City have sacked Bignot, who was assistant manager of their women's team, after an independent regulatory commission found he committed an "aggravated breach" of regulations during a game against Tottenham Hotspur on February 13.
Bignot denied the charge that he had made a comment about Spurs boss Rehanne Skinner's sexuality on the touchline during the Women's Super League game. He claimed he did not know Skinner's sexuality, but the commission said this was "not credible" with her partner being a former Birmingham player.
Bignot was suspended by Birmingham in March and he was sacked on Thursday after the commission concluded “on the balance of probabilities” he had made the comment after hearing evidence from parties involved in the game.
The commission's written reasons said: "The regulatory commission is not concerned with the question whether Mr Bignot is homophobic, nor does it make any finding of such.
"He has been found to have made a comment which was obviously homophobic and wholly unacceptable. It is particularly important that homophobic comment, the kind made by Mr Bignot, is punished severely."
The 47-year-old has been given a seven-game touchline ban and has been ordered to a "mandatory face-to-face education programme".
A spokesman for Birmingham said: "As a club, we strongly condemn any form of homophobic abuse and reiterate our aim to confront and eliminate any form of discrimination.
"We thank Marcus for his services during his time at the club."
Bignot joined Rovers in 2000 and scored in the Worthington Cup victory over Premier League Everton. He also scored in a defeat against Bristol City before leaving the club at the end of the season after making 26 appearances. He later played for Queens Park Rangers and Millwall.
While he was still playing he took charge of Birmingham City Ladies at the age of 24 and stayed in charge until 2005.
In 2011, he was appointed manager of Solihull Moors and won the National League North title in 2015/16. He would later take charge at Grimsby Town, Chester City, Guiseley and Aston Villa Women, and he spent time on the coaching staff of England's under-18s and under-19s teams.
He returned to Birmingham's women's team in November last year.
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