THE resignation of the chief executive of Bedfordshire Football Association, after he spread a racist joke via email, has not been accepted by the board of directors.

Peter Brown stepped down from the FA Council earlier this month and offered his resignation to Bedfordshire FA after forwarding an offensive email to two other people from his work address.

In a statement issued yesterday (Thursday), Bedfordshire FA chairman Richard Robinson said: “The board of directors declined to accept Mr Brown’s resignation, asking him to remain in the post until a successor is suitably in position at the start of January 2012.

“The process of appointing a successor will commence immediately.”

He added: “This decision has received the full support of the County FA Council and other partners.”

Mr Brown referred to his actions as “a silly mistake” and said: “I am deeply saddened that 15 seconds of bad judgement is tarnishing all my previous work for football.”

One man who works within Bedfordshire FA, but who did not want to be identified, said the board’s decision to decline Mr Brown’s resignation was “disappointing”.

“It was racist behaviour,” he said. “We are all concerned.”

He suggested Mr Brown needed “re-educating”.

However, Chris Sterry, secretary of Arlesey Town Football Club, has previously defended Mr Brown.

“The email’s not something he generated, it’s something he passed on,” he said.

“It seems to me that someone’s got it in for him.”