AFC Wimbledon MD Macklin resigns over violent and sexist comments
In what could pass for disaster averted, Former AFC Wimbledon general manager Danny Macklin has resigned after a hidden recording device revealed he had made violent and sexist comments to a female member of staff at the club.
Macklin, who joined Wimbledon in November last year, made shocking comments about Wimbledon’s head of supporter services and ticketing, Rebecca Markham, stating in one conversation that he would like to ‘kill her’ and labeling the club director as a ‘f** *ing s**g and a ‘s***’.
His comments were reportedly recorded by an individual with a military background who has since taken up a position as a security officer at the club.
He placed the device in Macklin’s office at Cherry Red Records stadium in London.
The ex-Wimbledon chief’s vile language came despite the fact that Macklin, alongside Markham, was involved in the club joining the Her Game Too movement in a bid to encourage more women and girls into football t
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Macklin said at the time: ‘We welcome initiatives that encourage more girls and women to attend our games or take part in activities.’
However, just two months later he resigned and it has now been discovered that he had made a large number of derogatory and insulting comments about Markham to other colleagues.
In one exchange, Macklin was reportedly recorded saying, “I want to f******g put her (Markham) through a ****** window…I never wanted to kill anyone, but I would like to kill her.” . Damn shit.”
The 42-year-old described the Wimbledon ticket agent as a ‘f***ing b****’ in another conversation and explained how he ‘wanted to kill her
Wimbledon later published a statement following the report in The Times. The club said: ‘AFC Wimbledon is committed to being a responsible, inclusive and modern fan-owned club. She takes her duty to act well and set a good example, as well as her duty of care towards employees and fans, very seriously.
‘Behaviour as alleged was and will not be tolerated and is not representative of the culture at AFC Wimbledon
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“When we became aware of the issue, we acted appropriately in accordance with our responsibilities and values to resolve the issue immediately. For legal reasons we cannot say more about it.’
Markham previously worked at Premier League clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, West Ham and Fulham and became head of supporter services and ticketing at Wimbledon in June this year.
Macklin left his position at the club in September, but Wimbledon did not reveal the circumstances surrounding his departure at the time. They announced his departure in a statement saying they “appreciated” the former director’s hard work.