West Ham suspend director of player recruitment amid racism claims
According to the Daily Mail, Henry said the Premier League club wanted to limit the number of African players because “they have a bad attitude” and “cause mayhem” when they are not in the team.
Henry, it was claimed, suggested it was a policy supported by club management – but insisted West Ham had “nothing against the African race at all”.
West Ham have now suspended Henry, pending a full investigation.
“The club can confirm that director of player recruitment Tony Henry has been suspended pending a full and thorough investigation. West Ham United will not tolerate any type of discrimination and has, therefore, acted swiftly due to the serious nature of these claims,” as reported by the Guardian.
“The West Ham United family is an inclusive one where, regardless of gender, age, ability, race, religion or sexual orientation, everybody feels welcome and included. The club will make no further comment until the investigation has been concluded.”
The newspaper reported that Henry sent an email on January 27 — in response to an inquiry about a footballer of Cameroonian descent — to another senior West Ham official and an agent.
In the email, Henry allegedly wrote: ‘We don’t want any more Africans and he’s not good enough.”
When asked by the Mail why that was the case, Henry reportedly highlighted “problems” with their former striker Diafra Sakho, who left West Ham to join French club Rennes on Monday.
“We find that when they (Africans) are not in the team they cause mayhem. It’s nothing against the African race at all.
“I mean, look, there are top African players. There’s not a problem with them. It’s just sometimes they cause a lot of problems when they are not playing, as we had with Diafra.
“He’s left, so great. It’s nothing personal at all.”
Asked then if he thought his comments amounted to a slight on African players, Henry apparently replied “no” and praised the efforts of West Ham’s Senegal midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate.
