A Birmingham employment tribunal hearing a racial discrimination claim against Aston Villa football club has been adjourned.
The Premiership club’s former commercial director, Abdul Rashid, claimed the decision to fire him after 30 years’ service at Villa was “coloured” by racial discrimination.
The club said it had made Rashid’s role redundant after restructuring and that he was encouraged to apply for two other posts, the Birmingham Mail reports.
Rashid applied for the posts of head of business development and head of hospitality at Villa, the club said, but subsequently withdrew his applications and opted for redundancy.
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The tribunal, was, however, adjourned as Villa’s head of HR, Lisa Trotter, is on maternity leave and was unable to attend.
The hearing has been rescheduled for 24 September.