On Tuesday afternoon, Margaret Byrne resigned as Chief Executive of Sunderland FC over her handling of the Adam Johnson case.
Byrne admitted in a statement that she showed "a serious error of judgement" after the England international was found guilty in court of three counts relating to grooming and sexual activity with a child. It was revealed during the case that on May 4th last year, Johnson told Byrne he had kissed the girl.
The Daily Mail's north-east football correspondent Craig Hope spoke to Newstalk Breakfast on Wednesday morning. "From May 4th, (Johnson) was not suspended or even sacked by Sunderland Football Club. He was allowed to continue playing for the best part of nine months. Margaret Byrne admitted (on Tuesday) that it was her decision."
Hope has written in the Daily Mail, that Byrne would have been sacked if she had not resigned her position. "If (Byrne) knew he was guilty of two of the four charges, he was saying he was going to fight these charges. What you are doing in essence is supporting a man who is trying to cheat justice."
Sunderland's handling of the case, according to Hope has been poorly done. "Armed with the evidence they had, at the very least they should have suspended him."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
