A youth football team manager whose Facebook page had racist and homophobic comments on it has been charged by Hampshire Football Association.
Steve Clarke, who manages the under-15s squad at Havant & Waterlooville Youth FC, faces charges of improper conduct and of making comments deemed to be of a racist nature.
An investigation was launched last month after Havant & Waterlooville Youth FC passed on allegations on an internet blog saying that Mr Clarke had made racist comments.
Mr Clarke has been given until 12th April to respond to Hampshire FA about the two allegations.
A spokesperson for Hampshire FA told The News, Portsmouth’s local newspaper:
‘He can either have the matter dealt with at a personal hearing or dealt with in his absence. If he requests a personal hearing, we have to give 14 days’ notice of the date of the hearing.
‘It all depends on how quickly he responds as to how quickly the case gets dealt with.
‘There isn’t a maximum penalty set down. It would be at the discretion of the panel that deals with it. It’s not something we deal with very often.’
If Mr Clarke requests a personal hearing, it could be held in front of a disciplinary panel of four.
The panel would consist of specially-trained members from across the county who would consider the allegations made against Mr Clarke. The case could either be dealt with at county level or by the national FA.
