Thursday 27 November 2014 23:08, UK
Former Cardiff director Mike Hall has warned Vincent Tan not to get involved in the Dave Whelan affair for the sake of the Championship club.
Wigan chairman Whelan was charged by the Football Association for remarks about Chinese and Jewish people when responding to criticism of the club's decision to appoint Malky Mackay as their new manager.
Mackay's arrival as Wigan manager caused controversy as the Scot is currently the subject of an FA investigation into reportedly sending racist and anti-Semitic texts while he was in charge of Cardiff.
Malaysian businessman Tan sacked Mackay last December and branded Whelan "a racist" following remarks attributed to the 78-year-old in The Guardian.
But Hall, the former Wales rugby player who was on the Cardiff board when Tan first became involved in the Welsh club, wants the the Bluebirds owner to let the FA deal with Whelan without further interference.
I think we want him to be the leader of Cardiff City, not worrying about skirmishes with other clubs and other personalities.
"From my point of view, he should let that go now," said Hall. "The FA should obviously be allowed to adjudicate on what they think but Cardiff City should focus on the future.
"Malky's gone now, it's history, and the focus should be on getting into that top six (of the Championship) initially and hopefully the Premier League.
"If I was advising him (Tan) I'd say let it go now, otherwise it's going to look vindictive, spiteful and as if he's got another agenda.
"I think we want him to be the leader of Cardiff City, not worrying about skirmishes with other clubs and other personalities. He's got what he wants there now with his own manager in Russell Slade and if it was me I'd be focusing on that."
Tan has spoken about the possibility of buying another club in English football, raising fears among some Cardiff fans that he could withdraw his financial support and call in his substantial loans to the mid-table Championship club.
But, Hall says the Cardiff owner deserves more respect for everything he has done for the Welsh club in recent years.
He added: "Vincent's wealth got us into the Premier League but sadly things fell away and we were relegated.
"I don't think Tan Sri - as he should be called - gets enough respect and he's been ridiculed in the press, but Cardiff City has an owner which has huge wealth and that's important in football these days.
"I just wonder about the direction of the club because perhaps they could do with a few more people there who know about football and would spend the money more wisely."
