Cardiff board including owner Vincent Tan boycott Wigan match over racism row

Vincent Tan will not be present at the DW Stadium. Credit: Reuters

Cardiff's entire board will boycott Tuesday's Championship game at Wigan in protest following racism rows involving Dave Whelan and Malky Mackay.

The boardroom boycott is a show of sympathy for Cardiff owner Vincent Tan, who Press Association Sport understands remains upset over the Football Association's handling of racism investigations into Wigan owner Whelan and former Bluebirds boss Mackay.

Club sources have said Tan did not order directors to miss the Wigan game but board members wanted to show their support for the Malaysian businessman in the wake of comments made by Whelan and the ongoing FA investigation regarding Mackay, who is set to come up against his former club for the first time at the DW Stadium.

Wigan owner Dave Whelan was fined £50,000 by the FA in December for making controversial comments about Jewish and Chinese people and given a six-week ban from all football-related activity.

Tan had earlier responded to those comments by accusing "a racist chairman of hiring a racist manager" - but an FA disciplinary commission said it was "satisfied" the 78-year-old Whelan "is not a racist" and did not intend to cause offence.