Football 'obsession' denied

Chris Smith knew little about sport, says Kate Hoey

The new Sports Minister Richard Caborn has rejected allegations by his predecessor, Kate Hoey, that the government is "fixated" with football.

In a newspaper interview, Ms Hoey suggested she was sacked in the recent government reshuffle for disagreeing with leading figures in the sport over their plans for the new Wembley stadium and England's failed bid to host the World Cup.

I am not sure where Kate Hoey is coming from with this

Richard Caborn

The Arsenal fan and MP for Vauxhall said her strong opinions had created powerful enemies that eventually cost her job.

Ms Hoey, from County Down in Northern Ireland, told the Mail on Sunday that six months ago people assumed she would stay.

"But I knew I had offended football. And I knew that this government has a fixation about football," she said.

"To this government, football is sport. You mustn't upset football."

Pressure

While the World Cup bid was being considered, Ms Hoey said she came under pressure to speed up work permit applications from foreign footballers who wanted to play in the Premiership.

She also said she was expected to do everything possible to assist delegates from world football's governing body Fifa - even though she believed there was a "gentleman's agreement" that eventual victor Germany would be the European bidder for the 2006 tournament.

She said: "There were times when you'd have thought the government was being run by Fifa. I was astonished.

Hoey believed athletics track should have been included at new Wembley

"You couldn't criticise. Anyone who questioned the bid was unpatriotic.

"I just resented the way we seemed to be lowering our standards.

"This country really does have a reputation for decency and fair play, but we didn't win any friends with that bid."

Ms Hoey's slide in the popularity stakes continued as she questioned the absence of athletics provision in the new national stadium.

She said her views brought her into conflict with senior government figures, including her former boss, Culture Secretary Chris Smith, who was himself sacked in last week's reshuffle.

Suggesting that Mr Smith saw no faults in the stadium plans, she said: "Somebody once said that what Chris knew about sport could be written on the back of a ticket for the Royal Opera House.

"That was unkind, but it was right."

Her successor played down Ms Hoey's revelations and insisted that the strict criteria governing visas for foreign footballers were always adhered to.

"Seemingly, if the government were speeding up these applications then the process didn't work very well - because nobody got one," said Mr Caborn.

Richard Caborn: Footballers' permits a Home Office matter

"These applications are dealt with by the Home Office, and there is a very strict criteria laid down on foreign players which is adhered to anyway."

He added that as it was issue covered by the Home Office "I am not sure where Kate Hoey is coming from with this. It is a bit of a storm in a teacup."

However, his new posting has not got off to an auspicious start after he was asked five straightforward sport questions on BBC Five Live - and got them all wrong.

Mr Smith rejected Ms Hoey's suggestion that he knew little about sport and he claimed credit for helping to secure the World Athletics Championship for Britain.

"In the thing that is the focus of what she appears to have written over the weekend, which is the Wembley situation, it was indeed my decision to take athletics out of Wembley back in December 1999 that actually saved athletics for the World Championships in 2005," he said.

Ms Hoey told the paper she was told of her sacking in a mobile phone call from Tony Blair on the day after the election.