The League Managers' Association today apologised for the wording of its shoddy statement regarding former Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay, saying some of the wording "was inappropriate and has been perceived to trivialise matters of a racist, sexist or homophobic nature".
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The LMA said in a statement:
"It is beyond argument that any comments that are discriminatory, even used in private, are totally unacceptable. The LMA remains absolutely aware of our responsibility to the game and to promote and uphold the highest standards of behaviour.
The LMA will not be commenting further on the allegations relating to Malky Mackay whilst The FA conducts its investigation, other than to repeat that both the LMA and Malky will be cooperating fully.
We will continue to work with all of the game's stakeholders to address the important issues of respect and discriminatory behaviour in all its forms."
Cardiff were also believed to be upset with the initial statement by the LMA, who released a statement on behalf of Mackay on Thursday night after the 42-year-old Scot and Iain Moody were alleged to have shared racist, sexist and homophobic texts when they worked together at the Welsh club.
The initial statement said Mackay had been under pressure at the time of the messages and that he was ''letting off steam to a friend during some friendly text message banter".
That statement has been widely criticised by anti-discrimination campaigners within the game, and the LMA today felt compelled to apologise for how the first release had been worded.