Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan has denied that he deliberately prevented Malky Mackay from taking over at Crystal Palace by sending a dossier of the coach's controversial text messages to the Football Association.
Tan sacked Mackay back in December, but the Scotsman seemed to be on the verge of returning to management as Tony Pulis's successor at Selhurst Park at the start of the season.
However, talks broke down after allegations came to light regarding text messages of a sexist, racist and homophobic nature that were believed to have been exchanged between Mackay and former Cardiff head of recruitment Iain Moody.
In an interview with Sky Sports News, Tan said: "If the club discovers there is racism, you have to inform the FA, so we told him that since we sacked him we were not going to inform the FA and 'we'll leave it to you.' They didn't do it for three months, so we were advised to or the FA could fine us.
"It so happens that it timed when he was supposed to get a job with Crystal Palace. People said we timed it like that but we didn't, it was just too long. I had no sympathy for him after what he had done. He is the man responsible for us being relegated."
Meanwhile, the club are closing in on the appointment of new manager Russell Slade following the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Danielle Joynson
