On This Day – 30th January
The nation was shocked on this day in 1999 as England manager Glenn Hoddle expressed his beliefs in reincarnation in an interview with Matt Lawton in The Times.
One of the main beliefs that he expressed was his belief that people with disabilities were being punished for sins in a previous life. Cabinet Ministers became involved and were quick to condemn the England manager’s words and it made both front and back page news as well as being discussed on televisio and radio.
The Football Association were backed into a corner and were given no option but to terminate Hoddle’s contract. He was officially sacked three days later and former Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson was put in temporary charge whilst the FA went out to find a permanent replacement.
At the time of Hoddle’s dismissal, Howard Wilkinson was the Technical Director at the FA. He took charge of England for their home friendly against reigning World Champions France eight days after Hoddle was sacked. England lost 2-0.
Kevin Keegan was announced as Hoddle’s successor on 18th February 1999 and he remained in charge until 7th October 2000.
Glenn Hoddle returned to football a year later, taking over from Paul Jones as Southampton manager. He is now a pundit for BT Sport.
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