West Brom striker Jay Rodriguez has been charged by the Football Association after allegations he racially abused Gaetan Bong in last month’s Premier League match against Brighton.

The pair clashed during the match and Rodriguez is alleged to have used “abusive and/or insulting words which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race,” according to the FA.

Rodriguez has until 16 February 2018 to respond to the charge. He strongly denies any wrongdoing and West Brom immediately announced that they would contest the charge. “Absolutely gutted and in disbelief at the situation I find myself in,” Rodriguez tweeted. “I 100% deny the false allegation and will take the correct legal advice to prove my innocence.”

Richard Garlick, Albion’s Director of Football Administration, said: “As a Club we remain fully supportive and committed to backing Jay throughout this process.”

A source close to the player told The Independent that Rodriguez was “deeply upset” by the accusation of racism, which he vehemently denies.

West Brom manager Alan Pardew commented after the match he found it “very difficult” to believe that Rodriguez would make a racist comment, saying: “”Jay Rodriguez claims that the allegation, whatever the allegation is, is untrue.”

Footage from the match shows the pair bumping into one another and arguing, before Rodriguez holds his nose and waves his hands in front of his face as if to gesture that Bong smells.

Bong immediately complained to referee Martin Atkinson, who included the complaint in his report. Bong claimed that Rodirguez told him: “You are black and you stink.”

Bong elaborated on the incident during an appearance on French television last month.

“There was a lot of tension between the players because it was an important game,” he told SFR Sport.

“He was upset because I blocked him and after that he said some words. He said racist comments.

“I looked for the referee to tell him. First the referee told me to get back in position. I didn’t accept that so easily. I am a black man. We’re in 2018 and we cannot tolerate this. I hope there will be sanctions.’

Bong later added: “He did that because of the colour of my skin. I asked him to repeat what he said and I think he realised what he said and tried to limit the damage. And I replied to him: No, what you said was racist.

“At the end of the game he tried to say: No I didn’t say that. But I said: You can’t say that. Not to a human being. And most of all not to a black man, at this period, with everything that is happening in the world.”

Reuse content

• West Brom forward faces minimum five-game ban if found guilty

• Rodriguez denies wrongdoing in incident with Brighton’s Bong

7:17 p.m.: USA Today reports Arizona is weighing Rich Rodriguez’s future

The first report of Rich Rodriguez’s murky future with Arizona came from USA Today columnist Dan Wolken,who released a story on Twitter that the university was thinking of firing Rodriguez even though his contract ran through 2020.

This report came after two anonymous sources told USA Today that school officials hired a third-party law firm last fall to investigate claims that Rodriguez ran a hostile workplace.

The initial report left the university in a questionable state considering the football program dealing with two sexual assault cases in the last year, the men’s basketball team is currently being investigated by the FBI for ex-assistant coach Book Richardson allegedly paying recruits and former UA track and field coach Craig Carter is facing multiple felony charges.

8:35 p.m. Rich Rodriguez fired after $7.5M notice of claim

University of Arizona fires Rich Rodriguez following hostile workplace claim https://t.co/QGcePGxIEe pic.twitter.com/WeEI1wfG13

— Arizona Daily Star (@TucsonStar) January 3, 2018

Rich Rodriguez was fired as Arizona’s head football coach on Tuesday after a $7.5 million notice of claim was filed with the state’s attorney general’s office alleging that Rodriguez ran a hostile workplace and sexually harassed a former employee.

The UA announced his termination in a press release around 8:30 p.m. University president Robert C. Robbins and athletic director Dave Heeke said they will “honor the separation terms” of Rodriguez’s contract — his buyout is about $6 million.

“While this is a difficult decision, it is the right decision,” they wrote. “And it is a decision that lives up to the core values of the University of Arizona.”

The UA is being sued in federal court by one of three victims of former running back Orlando Bradford. The victim says the university knew Bradford was a danger to women and failed to protect her. Bradford was recently sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to two felony counts of aggravated assault.

And in August, Rodriguez was sued in civil court by Creative Artist Agencies (CAA). The agency represented the coach until the fall of 2015, and claims Rodriguez owes $230,050 in past-due fees.

Rodriguez’s contract was set to run through May 31, 2020. His buyout as of Dec. 1 was $6,487,500, according to USA Today’s annual survey of NCAA football coaches’ salaries. Because he was let go before March 15, Rodriguez will miss out on approximately $3.2 million from a master-limited-partnership provision in his contract. That pay came via publicly traded units on the so-called “Longevity Fund.” Rodriguez was set to receive 25 percent of the value on March 15. If he had been terminated any time after that, he would have been entitled to the full value of the fund.

A fast start, ugly finish 

Rodriguez’s hiring on Nov. 23, 2011 was seen as a coup for the UA and newly hired athletic director Greg Byrne. 

Arizona won the Pac-12 South Division title and finished 10-4 in 2014, then started trending downward.

The Wildcats finished 7-6 the following season, most of which was played without star linebacker Scooby Wright. Sensing that recruiting was lagging and the defense wasn’t performing up to expectations, Rodriguez turned over Arizona’s defensive staff. He hired Boise State’s Marcel Yates as defensive coordinator and promoted Jahmile Addae and Vince Amey from analysts to full-time assistant coaches.

The injury issues worsened in 2016, when Arizona lost its top two quarterbacks and running backs at various points. After starting 2-1, Arizona lost eight in a row. Only a season-ending victory over rival Arizona State put a bandage on an otherwise painful season.

The Wildcats entered 2017 with the lowest of expectations outside the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility, picked to finish last by the media in the Pac-12 South. An uneven 2-2 start only served to validate that prediction.

But in Game 5, sophomore quarterback Khalil Tate came off the bench and set a Football Bowl Subdivision record for quarterbacks with 327 rushing yards in a 45-42 win at Colorado. Tate would lead Arizona to four straight victories, winning an unprecedented four consecutive Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week awards.

The Wildcats secured bowl eligibility with a 58-37 win over Washington State on Oct. 28. They couldn’t follow up their perfect October, however, losing three of four games in November. Arizona finished the season with a 38-35 loss to Purdue in the Foster Farms Bowl.

The emergence of Tate and several freshmen on defense, including Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Colin Schooler, gave hope for bigger and better things to come in 2018. It also offered proof that the changes Rodriguez had made to the defensive staff were working, even if the immediate on-field results didn’t show it.

What’s next?

Heeke said Arizona’s next head coach will “will build a solid foundation for our program and create an identity of Arizona football that the University, Tucson and Southern Arizona communities can be proud of. We’re excited about the future of our football program, and we look forward to introducing our new head coach at the completion of the search process.”

Several current and recently employed coaches would be logical candidates to succeed Rodriguez. Boise State’s Bryan Harsin, Memphis’ Mike Norvell, Utah State’s Matt Wells and Syracuse’s Dino Babers, who was an assistant at Arizona from 1995-2000, will certainly be mentioned as potential replacements. Possible candidates who were recently let go but are still highly respected within the industry include Kevin Sumlin, Mark Helfrich, Butch Jones and Todd Graham. Jones was the coach at Central Michigan under Heeke from 2007-09.

Yates, who joined the staff in January 2016, will serve as the interim head coach.

It is unclear what will happen with the signing class of 16 players that Arizona announced last month. The NCAA instituted an early signing period for the first time this past December. It is possible those prospects could be let out of their national letters of intent (NLIs) if they no longer wish to attend Arizona. The NLI program controls the release process.

9:22 p.m.: Rich Rodriguez admits to affair but denies charges levied in claim

pic.twitter.com/PNZBbvxNTj

— Rich Rodriguez (@CoachRodAZ) January 3, 2018

Rich Rodriguez tweeted this statement Tuesday night after University of Arizona officials announced they fired him as head football coach. It read: 

“I was deeply disappointed to learn by email this evening that the University of Arizona is buying out my contract. My coaching staff and I were very excited about the trajectory of our young team, and looked forward to 2018 and beyond.

“This action comes on the heels of an outside investigation by the University into alleged workplace misconduct. This investigation concerned a complaint by my former administrative assistant, who threatened a $7.5 million lawsuit alleging harassment.

“The University initiated a thorough outside investigation. I fully cooperated with the investigation, including voluntarily taking and passing a polygraph. The University determined that there was no truth to her accusations and found me innocent of any wrongdoing.

“This was a thorough investigation that lasted over 10 weeks and included multiple members of my current and former staff. Notably, the complainant refused to cooperate with the investigation. It was comforting to be reassured of what I already knew, the claims were baseless and false.

“Regrettably, the complaint included a single truth — in the past, I had a consensual extramarital affair with a woman who is not affiliated with the University. It was wrong, and I have apologized to my wife and family. I am still working incredibly hard to repair the bonds I’ve broken and regain the trust of my wife and children, whom I love dearly.”

A fast start, ugly finish 

What’s next?

— Ryan Finley, Michael Lev and Joe Ferguson

A fast start, ugly finish 

What’s next?

— Ryan Finley, Michael Lev and Joe Ferguson