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Troy Townsend insists the sacking of Chris Hughton means efforts to improve black and ethnic minority representation in management are “at worse than square one”.
Hughton’s dismissal was widely condemned after he led the Seagulls to Premier League survival, as well as taking the club to the FA Cup semi-finals.
A poor end to the season though, without a win in 10 matches, has seen chairman Tony Bloom opt for a change, leaving Wolves’ Nuno Espirito Santo as the only black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) manager in the top division.
Townsend believes Hughton has been harshly treated for securing another season in the top tier for Brighton.
“We are now at worse than square one,” Townsend, who heads Kick It Out , told the Telegraph . ”People took my words out of context when [ex-West Brom manager] Darren Moore was sacked.
How the Premier League title race unfoldedShow all 41 1 /41How the Premier League title race unfolded How the Premier League title race unfolded Premier League title race in pictures
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Liverpool moments before kicking off their season against West Ham The Reds thrashed West Ham 4-0 to open their account
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Raheem Sterling celebrates after putting Man City ahead at Arsenal on the opening weekend The Blues would go on to win 2-0 at the Emirates
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Willy Boly handles Wolves in front Man City would eventually salvage a point through Aymeric Laporte, but it was here they initially fell behind in the title race
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Georginio Wijnaldum celebrates scoring against Spurs at Wembley Liverpool would run out 2-1 winners to continue their perfect start
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Daniel Sturridge celebrates his last-minute equaliser against Chelsea The Blues had lead through Eden Hazard, but Jurgen Klopp's side remained unbeaten, though their winning streak ended at six
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Riyad Mahrez misses from the spot in the 86th minute Liverpool held on to share the points vs Man City, their second successive draw
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Riyad Mahrez reacts after his crucial miss The Algerian struggled to justify his £60m price tag from Leicester
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Riyad Mahrez celebrates scoring against Spurs The Algerian's strike hands the Blues victory at Wembley
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Alexandre Lacazette denies Liverpool The Arsenal star's goal ensures the Reds are held and fall behind Man City to begin November
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Ilkay Gundogan celebrates scoring vs Man United The Blues won the derby 3-1 to maintain their lead at the top of the table
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Divock Origi scores deep into stoppage time to secure victory vs Everton The Belgian capitalised on Jordan Pickford's blunder to win the Merseyside derby and importantly stay in touch with City
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How the Premier League title race unfolded David Luiz celebrates scoring against Man City The Brazilian added a second after N'Golo Kante's opener to hand City their first defeat of the season and gift Liverpool a one-point advantage
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Xherdan Shaqiri celebrates scoring vs Man United The Swiss forward's double secured a 3-1 win against United to stun Jose Mourinho's side and maintain the Reds' lead at the top
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Andros Townsend celebrates his wonder strike vs Man City Crystal Palace shocked Pep Guardiola's side 3-2 at the Etihad
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Ederson looks on as Ricardo Pereira seals victory for Leicester Man City's slump continues with a third loss in four games
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Roberto Firmino equalises against Man City as the contenders clash at the Etihad The Brazilian's strike cancelled out Sergio Aguero's opener
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Leroy Sane settles the match with a fine strike The German pulls City within four points of the Reds
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Ederson picks the ball out of the net after Matt Ritchie converts from the spot Newcastle stunned City, rallying from 1-0 down to secure victory in a huge blow to their hopes of defending the title, slipping five points behind after 24 games
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Liverpool look on dejected after Harry Maguire equalises for Leicester The dropped points in the 1-1 draw at Anfield would spark a slump of four draws in six matches
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Aymeric Laporte celebrates breaking the deadlock at Goodison Park In a match where Evertonians were widely in favour of losing to ensure no help to their rivals in the title race, Gabriel Jesus added a second late on to secure a 2-0 win
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How the Premier League title race unfolded City hit Chelsea for six Pep Guardiola's side run riot against Chelsea, knocking them for six at the Etihad in a statement victory
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Jurgen Klopp reacts in frustration as Liverpool are held by Everton The title race swings towards City as Liverpool are held 0-0 at Goodison Park and finally toppled by Pep Guardiola's side
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Liverpool pull victory out the bag at the death against Spurs Toby Alderweireld cannot prevent his own-goal against the Reds in stoppage time to stay within touching distance of City
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Mohamed Salah is mobbed after the late escape against Spurs Salah's effort was deflected in off Toby Alderweireld in stoppage time
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Mohamed Salah celebrates his late goal against Southampton After struggling to break down Saints, Salah produced the key moment at St. Mary's
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Mohamed Salah produces rocket to break deadlock vs Chelsea The Reds star unleashed a fine strike from distance to send Liverpool on their way to a 2-0 win to keep pace with City
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Bernardo Silva settles City nerves at Old Trafford In what was expected to be their last remaining hurdle, Man City beat rivals United at Old Trafford 2-0, but were forced to wait until the 54th minute before the Portuguese broke the deadlock. Leroy Sane added a second 12 minutes later to confirm their 11th successive victory
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Divock Origi strikes late to maintain Reds' hopes The Belgian secures a vital three points in a 3-2 win to keep their title hopes alive, bouncing back after suffering a heavy defeat to Barcelona just days earlier
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Vincent Kompany unleashes rocket at the Etihad The City captain scored from range with 20 minutes remaining to break Leicester's stubborn resistance and keep City on track and continue their win streak to 13 matches
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Sadio Mane put Liverpool ahead against Wolves The goal temporarily put the Reds top of the table
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Glenn Murray heads past Ederson With City behind, Pep Guardiola's side had dug themselves a hole
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Sergio Aguero slides home the equaliser Sergio Aguero responded within 83 seconds, putting City a goal away from being back in control
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Aymeric Laporte puts the visitors ahead Laporte's header gave City the lead
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Riyad Mahrez slams home a third The Algerian hits a superb third from the edge of the area
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Mane celebrates his second Mane added a second to make sure Liverpool finish on 97 points
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Ilkay Gundogan celebrates his goal Gundogan added a fourth from a free-kick
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Jurgen Klopp salutres the Liverpool fans Klopp applauds the fans at Anfield after falling short
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Liverpool appear dejected after falling short Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane react after falling short
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Pep Guardiola reacts to City clinching the title Guardiola has overseen back-to-back title triumphs
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How the Premier League title race unfolded Man City celebrate at the final whistle City react to clinching the title
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“What people don’t understand is the real difficulties for black managers getting through the bottle neck at the top of football. We are talking about measly numbers.
“If a player had left at this stage, walked out on the club, people would be in uproar. It’s so shabby. What are the expectations of Brighton? Surely it is to stay in the league.
Chris Hughton leaves Brighton despite keeping them up
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“You are fourth from bottom and you have got to an FA Cup semi-final. I don’t get it. He has given Brighton another year of Premier League football and he gets repaid like this? Really?”
Swansea boss Graham Potter is now seen as the favourite to replace Hughton.
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