Mark Sampson sacked: Read FA's full statement on England women's manager

England manager sacked after being found to have had 'inappropriate relationships'

Mark Sampson was sacked as England coach on Wednesday afternoon (AFP/Getty Images)

Mark Sampson has been sacked as England women's coach after the FA found he had inappropriate relationships with his female players during a previous spell at Bristol Academy.

The 34-year-old had been in his post since 2013 and led England to the semi-finals of the European Championship this summer.

He had been dogged by allegations of discrimination and bullying made by striker Eniola Aluko for the past six weeks with his position coming under increasing scrutiny.

While his dismissal was not directly connected to those incidents it is understood the FA decided to re-examine an old safe-guarding case after a tip-off last week from someone outside the organisation.

Here is the FA's full statement on his sacking:

The Football Association can confirm that Mark Sampson’s contract as England Women’s head coach has been terminated with immediate effect.

Prior to taking charge of the national team in December 2013, Sampson was manager of Bristol Academy.

In 2014, safeguarding allegations were made against him about his time with Bristol Academy. The safeguarding assessment was that he did not pose a risk working in the game.

However, the full report of that investigation was only brought to the attention of the current FA leadership last week and it is our judgement that it revealed clear evidence of inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour by a coach.

It is on this basis that we have acted quickly to agree a termination of Sampson’s contract.

In respect of investigations into specific allegations made by Eniola Aluko in 2016, The FA stands by the findings of the independent barrister Katharine Newton’s investigation.

Sampson has denied all of the accusations put to him and no evidence of wrong-doing was found.

We will continue to support the independent investigation as it reviews the recent evidence presented to it and publish any new findings and recommendations.