Edleen John to leave FA over bullying claims

ONE of the Football Association's most senior executives is all set to leave the organisation following an investigation over bullying claims, the MailOnline reported.

The England team's diversity advisor Edleen John's departure is expected to be confirmed soon, the report added. 

It was reported that John has removed her association with the FA from her personal Twitter bio.

John was the subject of a written complaint from an FA employee, who accused the high-ranking official of intimidating behaviour, shouting, being dismissive, giving unjust criticism, using aggressive tactics and malicious behaviour.

John was appointed as a diversity and inclusion champion in September 2020. She played a key role in educating England stars about the issue of equality, diversity and inclusion. 

The MailOnline earlier reported that the governing body took the significant step of sanctioning a full hearing into John's conduct following an internal investigation by an external agency.

The tribunal was led by senior FA board member Sue Hough, who worked with an employment lawyer during the process. Following the hearing, the decision to remove John was taken.

Initially, the complaint was not considered a formal grievance. Later, following further enquires the FA decided to launch the probe, a process that resulted in the organisation receiving at least three more similar complaints from colleagues.

The newspaper report said that at least four separate grievances linked to John's behaviour away from the FA inquiry were received, three of which are from groups with connections to English football.

Prior to the investigation, the FA offered John the opportunity to take paid leave while enquires were being carried out. However, she refused the proposal.

Earlier, John said that she did not mean to intimidate anyone, but her communication was always 'direct'.

John had played a lead role in advising Gareth Southgate's side on how they could take a stand against the highly-documented human rights atrocities in the Islamic state.

She was also key in delivering the FA's historic Football Diversity Leadership Code, and other major projects on how to deal with the human rights issues linked to the World Cup in Qatar later this year.