Gordon Strachan has been dropped as a pundit by Sky Sports after anti-discrimination campaigners criticised him for drawing comparisons between race abuse victims and convicted sex offender Adam Johnson.
The former Scotland manager sparked outrage after questioning whether Johnson, recently released from prison for engaging in sexual activity with a15-year-old, should be protected from chants in a similar fashion to victims of racism if he returns to playing.
Strachan said in his role as an occasional contributor on The Debate last week: "If he goes on to the pitch and people start calling him names, have we got to do the same as it is to the racist situation? Is it all right to call him names now after doing his three years — have we got to allow that to happen?"
Troy Townsend, of Kick It Out, and Steve Walters, of anti-abuse charity The Offside Trust, led criticism against him in online posts over the weekend.
A source at Sky confirmed there are now "no immediate plans" to use Strachan again.
A Sky statement said: "Comments were made by a guest on The Debate. Of course Sky Sports does not support the comments and we're sorry for the offence they have caused."
Strachan made a statement which read: "Having reviewed the particular segment in light of the reaction, I fully acknowledge that the imprecise use of language in my initial response has left open a perception that should easily have been avoided. For that, I sincerely apologise."
Townsend, father of Crystal Palace and England winger Andros, tweeted: "That's the problem when you keep giving [air-time] to those whose sell-by date long gone. This is where education is needed. I despair."
I can't believe I just watched a clip of Gordon Strachan comparing potential verbal abuse of Adam Johnson (for being a paedophile) to racial abuse that black football players receive. He literally said that. I'm not making this up.
Pleasing to hear that Gordon Strachan has, indeed, been cancelled. Now let's never speak of him again.
— Craig Fowler ✊🏻✊🏽✊🏿 (@craigfowler86) April 7, 2019
Johnson, who turns 32 in July, served half of the six-year sentence handed down after he was found guilty of engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. The former Sunderland and Manchester City winger, who represented England on 12 occasions, remains on licence and, as part of his release conditions, will no longer be permitted to spend time alone with his daughter.
Strachan, a top midfielder in the 1980s and early 1990s, had suggested Johnson should be allowed to resurrect his professional career should he show "genuine remorse".
"Then I'd say, 'right, let's get on with it'. I would because I go back to what I believe in, that everybody deserves a second chance — and he's done his bit. People will think he's done his three years but this is for life. People will say 'that's that guy'."
