|
By Mitch Phillips LONDON, June 23 - The former head of
communications at the English Football Association explained on
Thursday how he attempted to broker a deal to save the
reputation of FA chief executive Mark Palios at the expense of
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. Palios, 52, and 56-year-old Eriksson had affairs with
39-year-old FA secretary Faria Alam who is suing her former
employer for unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination. In an attempt to protect Palios and his family, Colin Gibson
offered to give the News of the World newspaper full details of
Eriksson's affair with Alam on condition that Palios's name was
kept out of the paper. The deal collapsed when Alam declined to be interviewed by
the paper which then exposed Gibson's negotiations. "Here was a situation that was simply running out of
control," Gibson told the tribunal. He said he spoke to Alam about the need to keep Palios out
of the papers and she agreed. "We must do everything we can to
protect the girls (his daughters)," she said. "It obviously served Mark's interests but we took the view
that this also served the FA's interests," Gibson said. Asked who "we" referred to, Gibson merely said: "Other
people at the FA." Gibson said he felt uncomfortable trying to broker the deal
and was "simply doing what I was asked." "I felt the interests of the FA were not in accordance with
Sven's," he said. "We were in an impossible situation." FELL THROUGH After the deal fell through, Gibson said he offered to
resign. "I felt it would be extremely difficult for Sven to work
with me in the light of what happened." That resignation offer was rejected. A week later the News of the World printed extracts of its
conversation with Gibson as he tried to broker the deal and
Gibson's resignation was subsequently accepted. Palios and Alam
also resigned around the same time in August 2004. Gibson said that the FA had intervened initially only
because Alam had asked for help. "She absolutely denied the allegations (of an affair with
Eriksson) and asked the FA what it could do to stop the media
intrusion," Gibson said of a meeting with Alam, FA executive
director David Davies and the FA's legal counsel. Alam said she felt pressurised in the meeting. Gibson said:
"She looked anything but intimidated...she looked remarkably
calm...and did not appear at the end of her tether." Earlier on Thursday Alam completed her evidence and was then
questioned by the three-member tribunal panel. Asked why she kept a notebook - now lost - detailing her
alleged sexual harassment by Davies, she said: "For my own
satisfaction." Pressed on what that satisfaction might be, she said: "For
my own sanity, I suppose, that I wasn't going insane and I
wasn't making these things up." Hours after resigning from the FA, Alam signed contracts to
sell her story to two national newspapers for a total of 300,000
pounds (
|
