Sam Allardyce may have stayed under different circumstances, says FA's Martin Glenn

Posted Thursday, October 27, 2016 by Skysports.com

Sam Allardyce may have stayed under different circumstances, says FA's Martin Glenn
Sam Allardyce may have remained England boss if that was the FA's only responsibility, says Martin Glenn

Chief executive Martin Glenn has suggested Sam Allardyce might not have lost his job if the Football Association's sole responsibility was the England team.

Allardyce's spell as the national manager began in July and was over before the end of September following an investigation into corruption conducted by the Daily Telegraph.

Glenn, who was part of the decision-making process regarding Allardyce's fate, insists the FA had no other option to let him go and it was the right decision to do so, but said it may have been a different scenario had the situation arisen at club level.

Sam Allardyce may have stayed under different circumstances, says FA's Martin Glenn
Martin Glenn on Allardyce's departure

"Had we only been responsible for the England team, we might have taken a different decision about Sam," said Glenn.

"If we were in a club situation, you might say 'well, the club is more important, it'll be fine and we'll get over it'.

"But the issue we had with Sam was that in implying he could help people circumvent the rules, because we are in charge of running the game and enforcing the rules of the game and, if you like, the law maker and law enforcer, it would have impaired our ability to do that.

"In any 50-50 call we might have to make with a club or a player in the future, we'd then have that thrown back at us."

Asked if he was satisfied with how the FA had dealt with the situation, Glenn added: "Yes. I think it was a tough decision but we were decisive and we didn't kind of kick it into the long grass and have a three-month inquiry.

"It was pretty clear and we took the decision on the basis of the things I've just outlined. It was right for the interests of football."

The FA is no nearer a decision on whether Allardyce will face further sanctions following his dismissal as England manager, with Glenn confirming: "We are still waiting for all the information and as soon as we have that we will then conduct our own investigation."