Tony Henry has apologized for his comments about African players and insists they were not intended to be racist.
Henry advising an agent that West Ham did not want to sign African players, recalling difficulties the club had with Senegalese striker Diafra Sakho.
He is said to have added that African players “cause mayhem” when not selected in the team.
Speaking to News Channel, Henry said: “I was wrong for what I said. I’m not trying to get out of this. I’ve been charged by the FA. This is not me saying, ‘What I said was right.’ It was wrong, and I totally apologize.
“It was never, ever meant to be racist in any way. The reason we said we didn’t want any more Africans was that we already had three. The day before we’d had four, but one of them left.
“I just felt that, as a head of recruitment, I look ahead down the line and I thought that in 12 months it’s the African Nations Cup. If we had four African players come to the African Nations Cup, we are going to lose them in January and February, and we could struggle with that.
“I just want to say that I’m sorry. I want to apologize most to the African players, the players of African descent, but also everybody because I feel I’ve let them down.”