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8th March 2016
04:33pm GMT
'Sunderland AFC acknowledges that Margaret's intentions have always been to act in the best interests of the club, however it has become clear through our own internal investigations that in this instance decisions have been taken by Margaret in error,' the statement reads.
'Whilst swift and decisive action was taken to terminate Mr Johnson’s employment upon his guilty plea, decisions taken prior to this, including the decision not to suspend him for a second time pending the outcome of the trial, were wrong.'
Johnson was sacked by the club in the near-immediate aftermath of his initial guilty pleas, but the 28-year-old claimed in court to have told Byrne some details of his involvement with the 15-year-old schoolgirl as long ago as May 2015.
The player remained under contract with Sunderland until February 11, having made more than 20 appearances for the club in the months since the conversation he claims to have had with the CEO.
https://twitter.com/JoshHalliday/status/702462452122910720
Byrne has issued a statement of her own, in which she says she was 'astounded' when she learned Johnson had pleaded guilty to two of his charges, but that allowing the player to continue representing the club was an 'error'.
'I recognise that, as CEO, my involvement with Mr Johnson and the decision to allow him to continue to represent the club was a serious mistake,' Byrne's statement reads.
'I sincerely regret that this error has impacted on the victim, the club, its supporters and all those affected in such a devastating manner.'Explore more on these topics:
