John Yems has left his role as manager of Crawley Town after he was alleged to have engaged in racist behaviour at the club.
Yems was suspended indefinitely by the League Two side after the accusations came to light a fortnight ago. The Football Association this week confirmed it was investigating the 62-year-old and on Friday the club announced his departure.
Crawley said in a statement they had “mutually agreed to part ways with John Yems, effective immediately” and added: “Crawley Town FC will immediately begin a global search for its next manager.”
Yems had been manager of Crawley since 2019 and as many as seven members of the Crawley squad are reported to have made claims against him to the Professional Footballers’ Association. The PFA is understood to be offering counselling to these players.
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The allegations, which were first reported by the Daily Mail and have not been independently corroborated by the Guardian, include reports that Yems:
• Referred to players of Asian heritage within the squad as “terrorists, suicide bombers and curry munchers”.
• Created a racially segregated dressing room, with white players told “don’t change in the black boys’ room”.
• Made racial slurs about black players and players of Asian heritage.
Yems has not commented publicly on the claims but is believed to deny them.
Crawley complete their league season away to Oldham on Saturday and came under new ownership last month. The club was bought by WAGMI United, an American consortium of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs. Speaking on Friday one of the new owners, Preston Johnson, said the club hoped to move on.
“We’re looking forward to the next era of Crawley Town Football Club,” Johnson said. “We have an opportunity to build on more than 125 years of rich history and take this club to the next level. We’re eager to partner with our players and supporters as we build a team and community that Red Devils fans can continue to be proud of – both on and off the pitch.”
