Ex-England footballer Lianne Sanderson: FA bosses 'not sorry enough' over race row

One of the female football players who gave evidence to MPs about an FA race row says she does not think its bosses are sorry enough.

Lianne Sanderson, who won 50 caps for England between 2006 and 2015, told Sky News she thought Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn and chairman Greg Clarke "lacked empathy".

The FA issued an apology to two England women's players on Wednesday over remarks by their ex-manager, minutes before the pair were grilled in Parliament by a commons committee.

A report found that players Eniola Aluko and Drew Spence were subject to comments "discriminatory on grounds of race" by now-sacked manager Mark Sampson.

When Sanderson, who was one of two players quizzed by the committee, along with Aluko, was asked whether she felt those at the top of the FA were sorry enough, she said: "For me, personally, no, I don't think they were."

She added: "I think they lacked empathy. They lacked compassion. It was difficult for them to answer straight the questions that were being (asked)."

Sampson, who left his role in September, had been accused of telling Aluko to make sure her Nigerian relatives did not bring the Ebola virus to a friendly match against Germany at Wembley in November 2014.

He denied that claim, as well as another allegation that he asked Spence, of mixed race, if she had been arrested before, then jokingly suggesting she had been arrested four times.

In the FA statement, the organisation revealed new evidence submitted to independent barrister Katharine Newton led her to conclude that "on two separate occasions Sampson made ill-judged attempts at humour, which as a matter of law were discriminatory on grounds of race within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010".

But Ms Newton also concluded Sampson "was not racist" and there was "no evidence" to support claims Aluko had been subjected to a course of bullying and discriminatory conduct by the former England manager.

Sanderson said she was pleased with the report's conclusions because it showed procedures at the FA could be followed "properly".

"It's been a long journey. For myself, for Eniola. For me it was important to come... and support her... because I always knew she was telling the truth," she said.

"This hasn't been a nice process for us. Particularly for Eni, to be called a liar, for people to not know what's actually going on. But after yesterday, we feel very satisfied with what happened, but at the same time we want change and hopefully this might inflict change to come.

Asked if if the management needed to go before changes could be made, she said: "It's not my place to say. It's down to them to come to their own conclusions and self-reflect on how this process has turned out.

"It didn't need to be this way. It's not good for women's football. It's not good for the FA. It's not good for anybody."