Wigan chairman Whelan accepts FA misconduct charge

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has accepted a Football Association misconduct charge over comments he made regarding Jewish and Chinese people.

Whelan sparked outrage as he sought to defend the appointment of Malky Mackay as the club's new manager last month, at a time when the Scot was the subject of an investigation into reported racist and anti-Semitic texts sent while he was in charge of Cardiff.

When asked about Mackay's past indiscretions in an interview with a Guardian journalist, Whelan replied by saying it was ''nothing'' to call a Chinese person a ''chink''.

He was also reported to have stated: ''Jewish people do chase money more than everybody else.''

Whelan apologised for any offence caused but insisted he was misquoted in the interview and indicated he would resign as the club’s chairman if the FA even suggested he was guilty of using racist language.

The 78-year-old was subsequently charged by the FA with an aggravated breach of its rules.

He has now decided not to challenge the charge, and has requested a non-personal hearing.

The FA said in a statement released on Monday: "We can confirm Mr Whelan has accepted the charge and has requested a non-personal hearing but no date has been set for that."