Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has opened up on his feelings after being cleared of wrongdoing by the FA in the fiery incident involving Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes.
Henderson was accused of making an offensive remark to Gabriel during a flashpoint in Arsenal’s 3-2 win at the Emirates Stadium on October 9. The FA took witness statements from six players from both teams, reviewed video footage and sought the opinion of linguistics experts before determining that there was no case to answer.
Henderson always strenuously denied the allegation and the FA eventually accepted his version of events that his words were misheard. Speaking for the first time since the ruling, the England midfielder has now reflected upon the FA investigation, which was sparked by referee Michael Oliver’s report after the game.
“I understand why I have to be asked about this, but what I tried to do was respect the process,” he told the Daily Mail.
“I have spoken before about black players being brave enough to speak out about discrimination so I couldn’t then change my stance. I still feel I need to show respect now, even though it’s been dealt with.
“I’ve let the FA do what they needed to do and I still feel it wouldn’t be right for me to speak about it. It is just as important to respect the process afterwards as it is during the case. I could speak to you all day about how I was feeling, but I have to accept what happened and move on. By the way, that wasn’t easy.
“There were a million and one things I wanted to say – emotional things – but I think it would have been wrong. It has not changed my mind that people must be empowered to come forward if they feel they have been wronged.
“It has changed my thoughts a little bit about the person who has been accused but if people feel they have been discriminated against, they must come forward.
“It would not be right for me to sit here and say how hard it was for me, because there is another person involved as well. It has been dealt with and it was another learning experience in my life.”
The FA’s statement from last month echoed Henderson’s thoughts on speaking up against discrimination.
"Whilst The FA is entirely satisfied that the allegation was made in good faith, it is equally satisfied that there is no case to answer,” it read.
"The FA continues to take all allegations received extremely seriously and would encourage anyone who believes that they have been the subject of or witness to abuse to report this through the appropriate channels.”
