The crisis engulfing Wigan Athletic over the appointment of Malky Mackay has deepened after owner Dave Whelan gave an interview in which he claimed "Jewish people chase money" and insisted using the word "chinks" is not racist.
Whelan is facing the full force of the Football Association's rules on discrimination barely 24 hours after choosing to give Mackay a job in defiance of its ongoing investigation into racist, sexist and homophobic text messages exchanged by the Scot during his period at Cardiff City.
That decision saw one of Wigan's sponsors tear up its contract with the club on Thursday, a setback Whelan shrugged off and acknowledged may be followed by the loss of other deals.
The news was then followed by a statement from the FA contradicting Whelan's claim that it had briefed him that Mackay would escape punishment because his messages had been deemed private and therefore not actionable.
Then came Whelan's interview with The Guardian in which the 77-year-old former Blackburn Rovers player attempted to defend some of the deeply offensive text messages exchanged by Mackay and former colleague Iain Moody.
Asked about a text being investigated by the FA which allegedly referred to "chinks", Whelan said: "If any Englishman said he has never called a Chinaman 'a chink' he is lying. There is nothing bad about doing that. It is like calling the British Brits, or the Irish paddies."
Jenny Wong, a Chinese community leader, told the newspaper Whelan was condoning racism.
Whelan also sought to defend a message he said had been sent by Mackay which said of Phil Smith, a football agent who is Jewish: "Nothing like a Jew that sees money slipping through his fingers."
Whelan was quoted by The Guardian as saying: "I think Jewish people do chase money more than everybody else. I don't think that's offensive at all. It's telling the truth. Jewish people love money, English people love money; we all love money."
Whelan, when contacted by The Daily Telegraph, denied he had intended to infer Jewish people liked money "more than everybody else", as well as standing by his statement that "chink" was not an offensive term.
His remarks were condemned by Simon Johnson, the former FA executive who is now chief executive at the Jewish Leadership Council.
Johnson told The Telegraph: "Mr Whelan has made disgraceful comments which use old-fashioned, anti-Semitic tropes that have been the basis for anti-Semitism over many years.
"Anti-Semitism is racism and, therefore, I am afraid that these are racist comments.
"I call on Mr Whelan immediately to withdraw his comments, to apologise for the offence that he's caused to Jewish people and football fans everywhere."
Urging the FA to act, he added: "I would ask the FA to look at this matter and take it very seriously.
"Regrettably, this is a situation where a participant has made comments which are racially abusive and would strike me as a prima facie case of a breach of the FA disciplinary regulations."
A statement later released by Kick It Out read: "The Football Association has outlined in a statement that 'no assurances have been given on the outcome of the case' yet Wigan Athletic owner Dave Whelan continues to suggest elsewhere that two 'influential' people have informed him that 'nothing will come' from the investigation.
"This comes shortly after the Guardian published comments from Whelan that 'Jewish people chase money more than everybody else' and that the word 'chink' is not offensive. He has brought into question whether he is a fit and proper person who should be running a professional football club.
"The remarks act as another example of the culture which continues to exist within football, and further proves that some in positions of power seem comfortable sharing those views either privately or publicly. These comments must not go unchallenged and have to be investigated by The FA.
"The FA also needs to get to the bottom of Whelan's insistence that he has been in contact with ‘influential' figures within its own organisation about the Malky Mackay and Iain Moody case. They must ascertain whether his claims have any substance by conducting an investigation into this too."
The FA declined to comment on Whelan's interview but it is certain to investigate and seek any recordings or notes as evidence.
That was after Wigan sponsor Premier Range, a kitchen firm whose logo appears on the back of the club's shirts, took a moral stand over Mackay's alleged conduct, insisting its position was now "untenable" following Whelan's controversial decision to name the Scot as manager.
It said in a statement: "The texts Mr Mackay has admitted to sending are wholly unacceptable – and the thoughts expressed within them are a shocking reminder of a past we thought football had left behind. A team that would employ a man who expresses views such as these is not the kind of team Premier Range wish to deal with."
Whelan responded: "It's a free country and they are entitled to do whatever they want to do. If they feel Malky Mackay has done something seriously wrong and feel so strongly about it then that is up to them.
"If any other sponsors want to do the same, I would understand because it is a free country. But I can only say again that in my opinion Malky has not done too much wrong and doesn't deserve to be thrown aside like this.
"We are still Wigan Athletic, a family club, and I made the appointment because I believe he is the right man to take us forward."
Responding to Whelan's claims the FA had briefed him that Mackay would escape punishment, the governing body said: "We wish to make it clear the FA investigation into the conduct of Malky Mackay and Iain Moody remains ongoing and no assurances have been given by the FA as to the outcome of this case. In the particular and exceptional circumstances of this case, the FA would like to provide some clarification as to the status of the investigation.
"The FA did not come into possession of the relevant evidence relating to the messages until mid-October. This came out of many thousands of emails and texts and we are still in the process of obtaining additional information.
"The FA is still investigating whether these messages indicate a culture in which other acts of a discriminatory nature may have taken place.
"This process inevitably takes time. Both Mr Mackay and Mr Moody are fully co-operating with the ongoing process. We fully appreciate the need to act expeditiously on this matter."
Following the furore, Whelan swiftly scheduled an interview on Sky News to apologise for any offence he had caused: "I've got hundreds and hundreds of Jewish friends. It wasn't my intention to offend anyone but if I have then please accept my apology. I must have given 50 interviews today and I did not mean to insult a single person."
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