FA ‘dismayed’ by mocking of Roy Hodgson

The Football Association has expressed dismay at a tabloid headline which yesterday played on new England manager Roy Hodgson’s speech impediment.

The Sun’s front page was emblazoned with the words: “Bwing on the Euwos! (we’ll see you in Ukwaine against Fwance).”

The headline – which picked up on Hodgson’s difficulties in pronouncing the letter R – sparked more than a hundred complaints to the press watchdog yesterday.

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The Football Association (FA) said it had also received a “large number of objections” to the coverage.

FA chairman David Bernstein said: “We are delighted at the media response to Roy’s appointment but are disappointed with the headline in The Sun, which we consider is in poor taste and disrespectful.”

A spokesman for the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) said: “I can confirm we have had over a hundred complaints.”

The FA said it would not be making an official complaint to the PCC but had raised the issue with the newspaper and “made it clear” the organisation found the front page unacceptable.

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News International had yet to make any comment on the headline last night but readers of the article were posting their own views online.

One suggested the newspaper had resorted to “bullying” in singling out his speech, and another saying the writer should be “ashamed”.

Hodgson, 64, signed a four-year deal when he accepted the role, taking him to the end of Euro 2016. He later admitted he would have to be on another planet to be oblivious to the fact he is not the people’s choice.

Following Fabio Capello’s resignation on February 8, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp had been the overwhelming favourite for the role. However, Redknapp later praised Hodgson’s abilities as a manager and wished him “all the best” in his new role.