WIGAN, England — The owner of English football club Wigan says he will quit his position if found guilty by the country’s Football Association of making racist remarks about Jewish and Chinese people.
Dave Whelan tells British broadcaster ITV that "should they even suggest I’m guilty, I would immediately resign from my position as chairman of Wigan Athletic."
The English FA is investigating comments made by Whelan to a national newspaper while he defended his decision to hire Malky Mackay as second-tier Wigan’s manager, even though Mackay is under investigation for sending racist and anti-Semitic text messages.
Commenting on a text by Mackay about Jewish people and money, Whelan said: "I think Jewish people do chase money more than everybody else. I don’t think that’s offensive at all." He also said there was "nothing bad" about a message sent by Mackay in which he used a term widely perceived as being insulting toward Chinese people.