Manager of footballer banned for ‘violating rival’s private parts’, leaving him unable to speak, says he wishes case went to police because ‘it was nonsense – they would’ve let him off’
Swindon Town manager Ian Holloway has claimed his captain Ollie Clarke would not have been found guilty of foul play had the incident, which led to his seven-match ban, been handled by police.
The FA handed Clarke, 33, a lengthy ban and a £2,750 fine after he was found to have committed highly infringing acts against two unnamed opponents during Swindon’s match at Cardiff City on August 12 last year.
Shocking details of the FA’s investigation were published on Tuesday, revealing a Cardiff player ‘became very emotional and had difficulty speaking’ following incidents in the 57th and 94th minutes of the game.
Referee Elliot Bell said one of the victims approached him ‘visibly upset’ and told him what had happened.
Bell included this detail in the official match report and the Independent Regulatory Commission heard the Swindon captain’s evidence. At the hearing, Clarke admitted the charges and made statements claiming that both incidents were unintentional; this claim was rejected by the board.
The panel found there was “no reasonable explanation” for Clarke’s behaviour, insisting that “touching private body parts of an opponent during play, particularly when the ball is out of play” was “highly invasive, intrusive and violating”.
Ian Holloway claims Swindon captain Ollie Clarke would not have been found guilty of foul play had the incident that led to his seven-match ban been handled by police
Clarke (left) is seen at the Cardiff match last August where the incidents took place. There is no suggestion that Cardiff player Callum Robinson (right) was one of the opponents affected by Clarke’s actions
The above is a detail of referee Elliot Bell’s hearing in the match report.
They also described the incidents as ‘extremely serious and unusual’.
Furious at the decision, Holloway lashed out at the FA for the ‘disgraceful’ process, while claiming that if the case had been handled by the police, Clarke would have been cleared.
The 62-year-old manager said: ‘I vouch for his character and I know he is competitive and he would not have meant anything that he is alleged to have done.’
‘We tried to combat this. It took so long, it was embarrassing. They removed it and now it has a very heavy ban. In my opinion, it was an unfair decision. But there you go.
‘For me it didn’t affect how I felt about him in any way, shape or form. I saw what you did. I watched it again. And to me it was nonsense. That’s the game these days, and that’s how they see it.
‘But I would have preferred if they reported him to the police and the police let him go because there is no evidence, it’s that simple.’
After the hearing, Holloway said the ban was ‘ridiculous’ and argued that Clarke was a ‘hard-working and aggressive’ player.
he said Swindon Advertiser last month: ‘It’s actually a ridiculous amount of play compared to everything else I’ve seen in football in my life.
Clarke (pictured) handed seven-match ban for ‘extremely serious and unusual incident’
‘I don’t understand how it’s taken us so long to deal with this, how our process of speaking to them and appealing is complete nonsense.
“I feel for Ollie and so do the kids,” he added. ‘Honest, hard-working and aggressive; What more do you want? But is he overly aggressive? I don’t think so.’
South Wales Police confirmed to Daily Mail Sport on Wednesday that it had no involvement in the incident or the FA’s decision published last month.
The shocked and shocked reaction of one of the victims was also taken into account when determining Clarke’s sentence.
In the written justifications, ‘1. Regarding the accusation, the Commission was of the opinion that the Player’s actions constituted a high level of violation and intentional foul play.
He continued: ‘2. Regarding the accusation, the Commission considered that the Player’s actions again amounted to a high degree of violation and intentional fouling; The further aggravating factor of the incident occurred 37 minutes after the first incident in the same match.’
‘The immorality of this action warrants an immediate sports sanction of at least six matches,’ they predicted.
‘Taking both incidents together, the panel imposed a starting point of nine matches before reducing the penalty to seven in accordance with the principle of totality.’
Holloway slams ‘unfair’ decision, calls FA process ‘disgraceful’
In response to written reasons, Swindon published a statement on the club’s website. It said: ‘Swindon Town Football Club accepts the written reasons issued by the FA in relation to Ollie Clarke following the latest decision of the Regulatory Commission.
‘Throughout the process, Ollie Clarke maintained his innocence and pleaded guilty to the charges only on the grounds that both charges were unintentional.
‘The club continues to support Ollie and will do so moving forward. Swindon Town Football Club will have no further comment at this time.’
Daily Mail Sport understands South Wales Police are not dealing with the matter
