Phil Neville has apologised for historical tweets sent from his Twitter account six years ago.
The new England Women head coach deleted his Twitter profile after his appointment was announced on Tuesday.
One tweet from January 2012 read: “When I said morning men I thought the women would of [sic] been busy preparing breakfast/getting kids ready/making the beds-sorry women!”
A statement from Neville read: “Following comments made a number of years ago I would like to clarify that they were not and are not a true and genuine reflection of either my character or beliefs, and would like to apologise.
“I am fully aware of my responsibilities as the England Women’s Head Coach and am immensely proud and honoured to have been given the role. I am now looking forward to the future and will work tirelessly to try and help bring success to the team.”
The Football Association told Sky Sports News, on Tuesday, they were aware of Neville’s tweets before making the appointment.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Women’s Sport Trust said: “We are saddened by Phil Neville’s historical tweets and the lack of comment about this from the FA. In the age of MeToo and TimesUp, all individuals and organisations must be more aware of past sexist behaviour and respond to it appropriately.”
A statement from Roisin Wood, CEO of Kick It Out, read: “Following on from the announcement, Kick It Out was also made aware of alleged historical social media posts from Neville, which appear to show him making misogynistic and sexist comments. These have since been passed on to The FA.
“In light of recent action taken in response to historical social media comments made by current football participants, the question must now be asked – will The FA be charging Neville for posting discriminatory comments on social media?”
On Tuesday, Neville said he was “honoured” to have been named head coach of the England Women in what is his first managerial post. He replaces Mo Marley, who was managing the side on an interim basis since Mark Sampson’s dismissal last September.
Neville has previously worked as a coach at Manchester United and Valencia and with the England U21 set-up.
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