Crawley Town part company with John Yems after allegations of racism

Crawley Town have parted company with John Yems after he was alleged to have used discriminatory language and behaviour.

The 62-year-old was suspended by the League Two club in April following "serious and credible" allegations that he used discriminatory language and behaviour against his own players. The FA are investigating these allegations after they were reported to the PFA.

Crawley's assistant manager Lewis Young will remain in charge until the end of the season. The team are currently 12th in League Two and have just one fixture remaining this term - against relegated Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park on Saturday afternoon.

"We're looking forward to the next era of Crawley Town Football Club," said Crawley's co-chair Preston Johnson.

"We have an opportunity to build on more than 125 years of rich history and take this club to the next level. We're eager to partner with our players and supporters as we build a team and community that Red Devils fans can continue to be proud of - both on and off the pitch."

An FA spokesperson added: "We are aware of allegations made against Crawley Town Manager John Yems.

"We are treating the allegations extremely seriously and are currently conducting an investigation into them. We cannot comment further until that has concluded."

Yems was appointed Crawley boss - his first managerial role in the EFL - in December 2019 and won 43 of his 119 games in charge. His team finished 13th and 12th in League Two during his first two seasons in charge.

Crawley announced Yems' suspension on April 23. "Late Friday, Crawley Town Football Club was made aware of serious and credible accusations that first team manager John Yems used discriminatory language and behavior toward our players," read a statement.

"We take these allegations seriously and, effective immediately, have suspended him indefinitely as we investigate and consider further punitive action. Let us be clear: Crawley Town Football Club stands behind our players, employees and supporters, and we will never tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind."

Crawley were promoted to the EFL for the first time in 2011 - winning the National League - and went on to achieve promotion to League One the following season. They dropped back into the fourth tier in 2014-15. Crawley haven't come close to promotion since.

Caretaker manager Young, 32, joined Crawley's backroom staff last year after injury ended his playing career. The ex-defender, who made 240 appearances for the club before retiring, has lost all three of his games in charge so far.