FORMER Crawley Town manager John Yems has revealed in an exclusive interview with Solent Sports News that he has struggled with his mental health during his FA suspension after facing allegations of racist language back in 2022.
The 65-year-old was banned from football management for an initial 17 months and then following an FA appeal saw the suspension extended until 2026.
Yems, who has always denied the allegations, shared that despite not blaming the Football Association for taking action, the decision still affects him today.
“They (The FA) were just fed a story, so I don’t blame them, but it still hurts today because I’m still on my ban.” Yems said.
After losing his job at Crawley Town after the initial allegations were revealed, the manager said that the media presence and stories affected his personality and the lives of his family.
He shared: “To have Sky Sports sat outside your house for two days, following your wife around, when all they were interested in was for me to make a comment about segregating changing rooms, it was difficult to deal with.”
“There I was Johnny Yems, who loves a laugh and being around people, then suddenly I found myself sat in a dark room with the lights out, not wanting to meet anyone.”
Yems revealed that having sought help during this period, the work of Tony Adams’ charity, Sporting Chance, was ‘fantastic’ alongside the support of friends and family.
The 65-year-old said: “It’s something that I’ve come through because I did have a breakdown in the middle of it. Take the accusations aside, because that’s all they were, it was nice for just somebody to pick the phone up and see how you were.”
The former Crawley and Horsham manager has seven months left on his FA ban and is currently the longest serving suspended manager in English football history.
