The League Managers Association has apologised for the wording of a statement it released in the wake of controversial texts exchanged by former Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay.

After the Daily Mail published the contents of texts which contained "racist, sexist and homophobic" language, the LMA released a statement on Mackay's behalf which referred to some of the messages as "friendly text message banter".  

Amid mounting criticism, the LMA has released a new statement, apologising for the language used:

"The LMA apologises for some of its wording, in its release yesterday, which was inappropriate and has been perceived to trivialise matters of a racist, sexist or homophobic nature. That was certainly not our intention. It is beyond argument that any comments that are discriminatory, even used in private, are totally unacceptable. The LMA remains absolutely aware of our responsibility to the game and to promote and uphold the highest standards of behaviour. The LMA will not be commenting further on the allegations relating to Malky Mackay whilst The FA conducts its investigation, other than to repeat that both the LMA and Malky will be cooperating fully. We will continue to work with all of the game's stakeholders to address the important issues of respect and discriminatory behaviour in all its forms."