The FA were forced to defend new  England manager Roy Hodgson after a newspaper’s ‘disrespectful’ mocking of his speech impediment.

The Sun’s ‘Bwing on the Euwos’ front-page headline on Wednesday sparked more than 100 complaints to the Press Complaints Commission.

The FA received phone calls from fans saying their children were bullied at school over speech impediments and a former editor of The Sun also criticised the paper.

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FA chairman David Bernstein said the headline about Hodgson was ‘disrespectful’ and ‘in poor taste’.

An FA statement added: ‘The FA and the  PCC have today received a large number of objections relating to the front page headline in The Sun newspaper, regarding Roy Hodgson’s manner of speech. On this occasion, we will not be making an official complaint to the PCC, but we have raised it with the newspaper and made it clear that their front page is unacceptable to us.’

Offensive: The Sun has been condemned over Wednesday's page

David Yelland, a former editor of The Sun, tweeted: ‘So little compassion for Roy Hodgson today, bullying language, pointlessly cruel, pointlessly hurtful.’

A charity called I Can, which supports children suffering with speech, language and communication difficulties, said they were ‘disappointed’ by the front page. They said Hodgson is a ‘high-achieving man and a great role model for all young people with communication difficulties’.

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