Arsenal legend Ian Wright has blasted the Football Association for their ruling in the John Yems racism scandal, labelling it "disgraceful".
Yems has been banned from all football-related activity for 15 months for multiple breaches of rules relating to discriminatory comments. But the FA's independent panel have concluded that Yems, who was most recently manager of Crawley Town, is "not a conscious racist".
He had been charged by the FA in relation to 16 alleged comments which "included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race and/or nationality and/or religion or belief and/or gender" during his time as Crawley boss. Yems admitted to one charge and was found guilty of 11 others relating to the discriminatory comments. The independent regulatory commission has banned Yems from all football-related activity up to and including June 1 2024.
Among the charges, Yems was found guilty of describing Muslim members of his squad as "terrorists", deliberately mispronounced the second half of Arnold Schwarzenegger's name to emphasise the N-word and called one player a "curry muncher".
But the sanctions document produced after the proceedings indicates the FA pushed for a two-year suspension but the panel agreed with Yems' solicitors that their client was not a racist and did not "intend to make racist remarks".
In its findings, the FA said: "We regard this as an extremely serious case. We have accepted that Mr Yems is not a conscious racist. If he were, an extremely lengthy, even permanent, suspension would be appropriate.
"Nevertheless, Mr Yems' 'banter' undoubtedly came across to the victims and others as offensive, racist and Islamophobic. Mr Yems simply paid no regard to the distress which his misplaced jocularity was causing."
That verdict has been widely decried by many, including Wright, who has take aim at both Yems and the FA. He slammed the ruling as "disgraceful" and mocked the FA for their claims about wanting to psh for more equality in football.
"This man’s words and actions forced young players, the future of our game, out of his club. Who cares how he felt about it!! He destroyed their dreams," the Arsenal legend tweeted.
"The message this ruling sends is disgraceful. But don't worry the FA's next campaign will have a lovely video about "progress"!"
Kick It Out, an organisation which works within the football, educational and community sectors to challenge discrimination, also slammed the FA for their ruling on the Yems case.
"The discriminatory language outlined in the FA independent report is simply shocking. Given the seriousness of the incidents detailed, it is very hard to understand how the FA independent panel have concluded that 'Mr Yems is not a conscious racist'," a statement read.
"We do not share that viewpoint. The behaviour outlined in the report must be called out for exactly what it is: racism and Islamophobia. To speak plainly, a 15-month ban given the severity of the 11 proven charges is a slap in the face to the victims of the discriminatory abuse detailed in this report and anyone who has been subject to racism or Islamophobia.
"Furthermore, to reduce his prolonged string of offensive, Islamophobic and racist remarks to simply being 'misplaced jocularity' shows a total lack of understanding about the damage that this language can cause or the power dynamics that exist in the game.
"This decision also sets a dangerous precedent by allowing perpetrators to hide behind a 'banter' defence when intentionally using harmful and discriminatory language, and we will be in touch with the FA to understand how the panel came to this conclusion."
