With football emerging from the pandemic and, in particular, the return to face-to-face meetings, David Elleray, chair of the FA Referees’ Committee, who is now based in South Africa, has decided to step down from his various FA roles at the end of the 2021-22 season after 20 years on the FA Council.
Out of respect to the independent investigation into allegations against him and the FA, David delayed this retirement announcement until the conclusion of the investigation. The investigation has now concluded and the FA will not be taking any action against David.
UPDATE ON INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION:
On 14 December 2021, Leigh Barnett, Consultant Solicitor Parker Bullen LLP, was instructed by the FA to conduct an independent investigation to look into allegations surrounding the FA investigation of an incident in 2014 and a number of new allegations relating to David Elleray.
The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether any of the allegations raised were substantiated by evidence and, if so, whether they amounted to misconduct warranting further action.
Leigh Barnett’s investigation found that the investigation in 2014 was compliant with the relevant FA policy and that there was insufficient evidence to support the specific allegations against David Elleray, so no further action will be taken. Given the confidential nature of the investigation it would not be appropriate to divulge any further details.
The report makes several recommendations which will be incorporated into the work already well underway to develop the FA’s next three-year refereeing strategy that will be launched next season.
The strategy, which is currently in the consultation phase with a broad range of stakeholders, is set to develop a clear plan to improve the refereeing environment and culture, create better opportunities for under -represented groups and improve standards from grassroots to elite levels.
