Luton slam Newell comments

Mike Newell was clinging to his job as Luton manager tonight after the club’s board demanded a meeting with him for what they described as his “sexist” and “completely unacceptable” criticism of assistant referee Amy Rayner.

The Luton board were expected to make a decision on Newell’s future tonight after he described the appointment of Rayner to run the line at his side’s 3-2 defeat to QPR as “tokenism, for the politically-correct idiots“.

However, they will not decide which course of action to take until they have spoken to the former Blackburn striker, who also criticised Luton chairman Bill Tomlins in his post-match press conference.

In a statement on the club’s official website, www.lutontownfc.co.uk, the Luton board said: “The board of directors met today to consider the comments made by the manager, Mike Newell, in the press conference after Saturday’s game against QPR.

“The club disassociates itself totally from the sexist comments made by him, we have no place in this club and are completely unacceptable.

“Representatives of the board will be meeting the manager as a matter of urgency to ask him to explain his comments and other criticisms.

“Until this meeting has taken place, the club will make no further comment.”