test2wa

Other Football

Sir Dave Richards' resignation from the England 2018 board came as a bolt from the blue to the rest of the directors.

There had been no warning at all of the Premier League chairman's intention until bid leader Lord Triesman read out the contents of his letter at the board meeting this morning.

According to one board member the letter caused some shock but Triesman's future as bid chairman was not even discussed.

Some influential figures in football believe Triesman cannot run both the FA and the bid effectively, and should step down from his £100,000-a-year, two-days-a-week job as as head of the 2018 campaign.

Geoff Thompson, his predecessor as FA chairman and currently both a UEFA and FIFA vice-president, has been suggested as a person who could unite the bid after weeks of damaging splits and criticism.

Triesman, however, is refusing to budge and it looks as though the other members of his new streamlined board are backing him.

No-one is pretending, however, that the resignation is a blow the bid could have well done without.

The board member said: "It was a bolt from the blue and something we could have done without - but we decided rapidly to accept the resignation and to move on. There was no discussion over Triesman's position at all."

It is understood that England 2018 will not seek a replacement from the Premier League to take Richards' place, and are happy that they still enjoy the support of the league's chief executive Richard Scudamore and the clubs.

Richards had been unhappy with the direction of the bid for some time, and had even suggested that Manchester United chief executive David Gill stay on the board instead of him when it was re-shuffled 12 days ago.

Given that Richards was supposed to be the bid deputy chairman in charge of international campaigns, last week's appointment of Chelsea communications director Simon Greenberg as bid chief of staff responsible for campaign strategy and communications did not help his mood.

He decided finally to quit the board on Monday night, announcing his decision in a a letter delivered to Triesman this morning in which he said he would continue to support the campaign but no longer wanted to be on the board.

The resignation could hardly have come at a worse time for Triesman, who had hoped to draw a line under recent turmoil by the reshuffle.

Richards' letter arrived only two hours before the new-look board was due to meet for the first time.

The move highlights the underlying tensions between the Premier League and the FA which has existed since Triesman made a public attack on clubs' debts in October 2008.

Richards and Scudamore were both ignored when Triesman initially put the bid board together before, on the insistence of bid chief executive Andy Anson, Richards was persuaded to join so the campaign could harness the clout of the Premier League - he has strong international contacts, particularly in Africa and Asia.

And having fought so hard for Richards' inclusion, Anson must now feel personally let down by his resignation.

The resignation is the most serious development in several weeks of turmoil for the bid, first sparked by outspoken criticism of the campaign by FIFA vice-president Jack Warner. This was followed by the revelations that the bid were giving designer handbags to the wives of FIFA members.

Warner returned the gift, angry that his wife had been exposed to embarrassment, and sent a furious letter to Triesman.

Some board members and the Government became increasingly concerned at the direction of the bid - sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe admitted there had been "heated arguments" - and this led to a crisis meeting on November 12 where a seven-man streamlined board was announced.

This included Geoff Thompson for the first time - he too had been bafflingly excluded by Triesman from the original board - as well as Triesman, Richards, Football League chairman Lord Mawhinney, Lord Sebastian Coe, Paul Elliott and 2018 chief executive Anson.

Six other board members such as Gill, Sir Keith Mills and Sutcliffe joined an advisory group headed by Karren Brady.