West Ham have sacked director of player recruitment Tony Henry over claims he said the club would not sign any more African players.<\/p>\n
The decision follows a report by the Daily Mail which carried quotes from Henry stating African players “cause mayhem” when they are not in the team.<\/p>\n
The club said his comments were “unacceptable”, adding they conducted a “full and thorough investigation”.<\/p>\n
It added: “West Ham United will not tolerate any type of discrimination.”<\/p>\n
Earlier on Friday, Hammers manager David Moyes said Henry had recommended two players from the African continent during the January transfer window.<\/p>\n
The Scot said the club were “very, very close” to signing Leicester’s Algeria forward Islam Slimani, who joined Newcastle on loan, and Lille’s Cameroon defender Ibrahim Amadou.<\/p>\n
When asked about the comments made by the former recruitment chief, Moyes said: “It’s a massive shock, because you are well aware of the couple of players we were trying to sign on deadline day, so that’s why it’s a big surprise.<\/p>\n
“I’ve known Tony and he has to get on with his stuff but all I can say is that it wasn’t correct because we were trying to sign two players like that on deadline day.”<\/p>\n
Asked if Henry had recommended Slimani and Amadou, he added: “Yes. They were two players who were slightly available, albeit who came up late.”<\/p>\n
The Professional Footballers’ Association had said it was “shocked” by the reported comments. It added: “The PFA strongly condemns any such views and there is no place for them in football.”<\/p>\n
West Ham have six first-team squad members of African descent: Cheikhou Kouyate, Pedro Obiang, Joao Mario, Angelo Ogbonna, Arthur Masuaku and Edimilson Fernandes.<\/p>\n
Senegal striker Diafra Sakho left the club in the January transfer window to join Rennes, with Ghana international Andre Ayew heading to Swansea.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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