West Ham suspends director of player recruitment Tony Henry over claims of racism

West Ham United have suspended their head of player recruitment amid accusations of racism.

Tony Henry is alleged to have told agents the club did not want to sign any African players in the transfer window.

Pressed on the claim by the Daily Mail, Henry is reported to have said West Ham wanted to limit the number of African players because have “a bad attitude” and “cause mayhem”.

He denied his comments were racist.

It’s nothing racist at all - it’s just sometimes they can have a bad attitude," he told the newspaper.

"We had problems with Diafra Sakho. We find that when they are not in the team they cause mayhem. It’s nothing against the African race at all."

Henry's alleged comments are believed to have caused widespread outrage in the West Ham dressing room.

Senegalese midfielder Cheikhou Kouyaté - one of a number of first-team players of African descent - made his feelings clear in an Instagram post,

West Ham announced on Thursday morning that Henry had been suspended pending a full investigation.

The furore caps a less than ideal transfer window for the club, who missed out on a number of targets as they fight to avoid relegation.