Wigan owner Dave Whelan charged by FA over comments

Wigan owner Dave Whelan has been charged by the Football Association for comments made regarding Jewish and Chinese people.

Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan has told ITV News he will resign if an FA investigation finds him guilty of making racist remarks.

Mr Whelan is under fire for remarks he made defending the club's manager, Malky Mackay which have been criticised as anti-semitic and racist.

Read: Labour: Tories should hand back Dave Whelan donations

Labour have called on the Conservatives to hand back money donated to the party by Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan.

Mr Whelan has apologised over remarks he made that were widely criticised as being racist and anti-semitic.

Backbencher Karl Turner has now written to David Cameron and Tory chairman Grant Shapps about the row.

Read: Vincent Tan calls Wigan owner and manager 'racist'

Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan has hit out at Wigan owner Dave Whelan and manager Malky Mackay calling them both 'racists'.

The Malaysian businessman was speaking after Whelan gave an interview to the Guardian where he said 'Jews chase money more than anybody else' and said it was acceptable to refer to Chinese person as a 'chink'.

Tan sacked Mackay, who was appointed Wigan manager on Wednesday, as Cardiff boss last year.

It was later revealed that Mackay had exchanged offensive text messages with a former colleague.

Mackay has apologised for his involvement in the texts and denied he had prejudices, saying: "I'm no racist. I'm no sexist. I'm no homophobe. I'm no anti-Semite."

"I think he insulted the dignity of all Jewish people. I think he insulted the dignity of Chinese," Tan told the BBC.

"I'm so disappointed the chairman of Wigan, a big club, is also a racist. This is a racist chairman hiring a racist manager.

"I hope that stops at two racists in Wigan, not snowballing to 2,000 or 20,000 racists in Wigan."

Whelan has since apologised for the comments, saying he did not mean to cause offence.

The Wigan said earlier: "I apologise on my behalf and on behalf of the club. We do not ever want to insult any nation or any person in the world."

The Football Association have released a statement in light of comments made by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan:

Read: Whelan sorry for any offence caused over comments

The main representative body of British Jews has called Wigan chairman Dave Whelan's comments "outrageous" and labelled his apology as "half-hearted".

The Board of Deputies of British Jews vice-president Jonathan Arkush said in a statement: "Dave Whelan's comments about Jews are outrageous and offensive, and bring the club and the game into disrepute.

"His half-hearted apology does not go far enough. You cannot insult a whole group of people, and then say, 'I would never insult them', and hope that's OK.

"We need to see a proper apology and full recognition of the offence caused. Whelan, in his role as chair of a football club, has a responsibility to set the tone for both his players and supporters. Racism and anti-Semitism will prevail on and off the pitch if it's acceptable and unchallenged in the boardroom.

"We will be taking up the matter with the Football Association and Kick It Out."

• Read: Whelan is not a racist says former Wigan manager

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan's comments about Jewish people are "outrageous and offensive and bring the club and the game into disrepute", according to the Board of Deputies of British Jews' vice-president Jonathan Arkush.

Hull City manager Steve Bruce says Wigan chairman Dave Whelan is not a racist.

Bruce worked under Whelan during two separate spells as manager of the Lancashire club.

Whelan has been criticised for his comments regarding Jewish and Chinese people in a Guardian interview.

"Maybe sitting on the fence might be the easiest thing to do but I've worked under Dave Whelan twice - I know him very, very well," said Bruce.

"There's no racism in him at all. Sometimes words can be said which can be misplaced, they can be out there in the public domain, but certainly when I've worked with him there's been no sign of racism.

"He is without question one of the best chairmen I've worked for. What you see is what you get."

Anti-racism group Kick It Out believe Wigan owner Dave Whelan's comments about Jewish and Chinese people should be investigated.

Whelan, 77, was asked to give his views on Malky Mackay's text message exchanges with Iain Moody.

During the interview with the Guardian, he said: “I think Jewish people do chase money more than everybody else. I don’t think that’s offensive at all.”

A Kick It Out statement read: “The Football Association has outlined in a statement that ‘no assurances have been given on the outcome of the case’ yet Wigan Athletic owner Dave Whelan continues to suggest elsewhere that two ‘influential’ people have informed him that ‘nothing will come’ from the investigation.

“This comes shortly after the Guardian published comments from Whelan that ‘Jewish people chase money more than everybody else’ and that the word ‘chink’ is not offensive. He has brought into question whether he is a fit and proper person who should be running a professional football club.

“The remarks act as another example of the culture which continues to exist within football, and further proves that some in positions of power seem comfortable sharing those views either privately or publicly. These comments must not go unchallenged and have to be investigated by The FA.

“The FA also needs to get to the bottom of Whelan’s insistence that he has been in contact with ‘influential’ figures within its own organisation about the Malky Mackay and Iain Moody case. They must ascertain whether his claims have any substance by conducting an investigation into this too.”