Mackay To Cooperate In FA Inquiry

Malky Mackay says he will co-operate fully with a Football Association investigation into Cardiff's text message dossier.

Mackay issued a statement through the League Managers' Association late on Thursday apologising for messages "disrespectful to other cultures" which were exposed just as he was about to return to management with Crystal Palace.

But the Scot denies sending homophobic or sexist messages during text correspondence with Iain Moody - his then-head of recruitment at Cardiff - and has vowed to set the record straight once the FA investigation is complete.

The scandal has already led to Moody stepping down as Palace's sporting director and cost Mackay the chance to succeed Tony Pulis at Selhurst Park.

And the LMA's claim that Mackay was "letting off steam to a friend during some friendly text message banter" has been ridiculed by prominent figures in the game.

Former Blackburn striker Jason Roberts, an outspoken critic of the football authorities' anti-racism measures in the past, tweeted: "The LMA said it better than I ever could. They are actually being serious! Somebody drafted that. WOW!"

And former England international Stan Collymore blasted the "institutional acceptance of the 'banter' of casual racism."

In the statement, the LMA said: "In the course of a search by the club in early 2014 of 10,000 private text messages sent to and from another member of staff during Mr Mackay’s employment at Cardiff, in relation to other matters, it emerged that Malky had, it seems, sent a couple of one line texts that were, with the benefit of hindsight, very regrettable and disrespectful of other cultures.

"These were two text messages sent in private at a time Malky felt under great pressure and when he was letting off steam to a friend during some friendly text message banter.

"That said, Malky believes he could and should have conducted himself better on these two isolated occasions. The precise details need to remain private for the time being until any FA process is complete."