Welcome to Full Time, The Athletic’s women’s football column, a one-stop shop every Monday to discuss the big issues in the game in the UK and Europe.
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On Friday morning, Sheffield United announced they had sacked coach Jonathan Morgan based on “new information (that) came to light about his conduct”. The Athletic revealed that the reason for Morgan’s dismissal was a previous relationship with a teenage player during his time managing Leicester City.
The decision came just weeks after Morgan was cleared of any wrongdoing by an external inquiry — carried out at the request of Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack’s parents following her death at the end of September.
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How Morgan’s ‘immoral’ relationship with his teenage player led to his sacking
Morgan’s sacking has distinct parallels with the situation of former England manager Mark Sampson, who was dismissed by the Football Association (FA) in 2017. Sampson was also the subject of an inquiry after he was accused by former England forward Eniola Aluko of displaying racist behaviour. He was cleared, but the FA eventually sacked Sampson based on reports of a relationship with a player when he was manager of Bristol Academy (now Bristol City) three years earlier.
In both cases, the alternative…
