Diafra Sakho claims West Ham 'don't want black players'

Director of recruitment Tony Henry was suspended from his position earlier this week following revelations that he told agents the 'club don’t want any more Africans'

Diafra Sakho left West Ham for Rennes last month (Getty)

Former West Ham United player Diafra Sakho has claimed his old club “don’t want black players” amid the racism scandal surrounding the club’s director of recruitment Tony Henry.

Henry was suspended from his position earlier this week following revelations that he told agents the “club don’t want any more Africans”. He later confirmed the admission to the Daily Mail, but insisted “it’s noting racist at all. It’s just sometimes they can have a bad attitude”.

In the wake of the scandal, West Ham said: “The Club can confirm that Director of Player Recruitment Tony Henry has been suspended pending a full and thorough investigation.

“West Ham United will not tolerate any type of discrimination and has, therefore, acted swiftly due to the serious nature of these claims.”

Sakho later posted a message on Snapchat in which he accused the club of discrimination: “They [lie] to people. They pretend I am bad because I have [character]. I am [lion], they scared and now everyone gonna see why I wanna leave this club.

“Show all fans what is true. They don't want black players. One by one we going out. Good luck all West Ham fans. Soon we see [truth]. I believe [in] justice.”

Midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate also took to social media in response to the controversy. “African and proud,” he said on Instagram. The post was liked by teammates Manuel Lanzini, Adrian, Pedro Obiang and Arthur Masuaku.

In his interview with the Daily Mail, Henry insisted that Sakho had caused “problems” at the club and suggested African players as whole can “cause mayhem” when not selected in West Ham’s starting XI.

“We had problems with Sakho, with Diafra Sakho,” he said. “We find that when they are not in the team they cause mayhem. It's nothing against the African race at all.

Diafra Sakho during his time as a West Ham player (Getty)

“I mean, look, there are top African players. There's not a problem with them. It's just sometimes they cause a lot of problems when they are not playing, as we had with Diafra. He's left, so great. It's nothing personal at all.

“I could say we get offered Russian players. I just find with Russian players that they don't settle in England.

“It's like Italians. How many Italians come and settle in England? As a club we are not discriminatory at all.”

The Football Association have opened an investigation into Henry’s comments while the Professional Footballers’ Association welcomed West Ham’s quick response.

The PFA’s statement read: “The PFA strongly condemn any such views and there is no place for them in football. The swift action by West Ham United is encouraging and we trust they will deal with this in keeping with football’s position on all matters of equality and anti-racism.”