England Women's manager Mark Sampson is to stand down from his role with the Lionesses
England Women's manager Mark Sampson is to leave his role amid accusations of racism, bullying and harassment.
Sampson, who has been under increasing scrutiny following allegations made by England veteran Eni Aluko, was initially cleared of any wrongdoing by two separate investigations.
However, fresh claims have since been made.
England's players put on a show of support for Sampson after a goal against Russia
Sportsmail revealed in August how Aluko had been paid hush money to the tune of £80,000 to keep quiet about the case.
She signed a confidentiality agreement that prevented her discussing a detailed eight-page email, sent to technical director Dan Ashworth and head of performance Dave Redding, in which she alleged sustained bullying by Sampson and his staff for more than two years.
An internal review by the FA and external investigation led by barrister Katharine Newton were subsequently set up, after which Sampson was exonerated despite key witness Drew Spence nor any of the other players present at the meeting being interviewed.
Eni Aluko made clear her stance on the celebration in Twitter post after Nikita Parris's goal
Eni Aluko wrote an email to FA last year that included allegations of bullying and harassment
In recent weeks, there have been calls for the case to be re-opened and, after mixed-race Spence submitted a written statement to the FA and met with officials, the accusation that Sampson asked her how many times she had been arrested during a midfielders meeting at the China Cup will be re-examined.
Meanwhile, the FA have been hauled before the culture, media and sport select committee for a parliamentary inquiry next month into their handling of the case.
Aluko, who has 102 caps for her country, and England forward Lianne Sanderson have been invited to give evidence to the select committee hearing, which has been scheduled for the middle of October.
Sampson has admitted that the media attention has had an emotional impact.
‘I think if anyone has put themselves in my position they would feel in a very difficult position, emotionally,’ he said prior to his side's victory over Russia on Tuesday.
‘The focus for us this week is to try and be professional about the game but of course we’re aware of what’s going on, we’re getting updates from the organisation and we can’t escape the news.’
And now, according to The Times, fresh allegations have emerged leading to the 34-year-old leaving his position.
Sampson, who took over the Lionesses in 2013, has led his team to the semi-finals of the World Cup and European Championship.
The news comes a matter of hours after England beat Russia 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier at Prenton Park.
After the first goal of the game, scored by Nikita Parris, the England players made a pointed statement by running to their coach to celebrate with him, drawing criticism from Aluko on social media.
The Chelsea star wrote: 'For the most together team in the world tonight's message only shows a level of disrespect that represents division and selfish action'.
Sanderson, who is backing her former international team-mate Aluko, was also scathing of England's celebration with Sampson and wrote on Twitter: 'I'm actually lost for words and feel physically sickened by all of this.
'They successfully manipulated the players into a them against us'.
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