UK Athletics permanently bans coach over relationship with athlete, racist comments
UK Athletics (UKA) has permanently banned a coach from the sport after being found guilty of an intimate relationship with an athlete, sending sexually inappropriate images and racist slurs.
After being charged in April, a disciplinary committee found Chris Barnes guilty of nine charges that breached the coaches code of conduct, all of which he admitted to.
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A disciplinary report published by UKA showed its disciplinary panel found that between March 2019 and January 2021, Barnes conducted an intimate relationship with one of the athletes that he coached.
In that same time frame, he was found guilty of sending two sexually inappropriate images and sexually explicit messages to an athlete he coached.
Between February 2020 and June 2020, Barnes also conducted an intimate relationship with another athlete, having not told them he was married.
The report said Barnes was also found to have made numerous racist comments between September 2013 and August 2020.
'Bloody p*** shop worker,' he said in 2020.
'It's simple, tomorrow I'll just blame the p***s for losing our license,' he said months later.
The former coach and events organiser made multiple comments bringing athletics into disrepute and being demeaning over athletes' weight, including calling an athlete a 'f***ing heffer' and 'chubby f***er'.
He told one athlete to run three miles all between 7.15-7.30 'or no sex ever again'.
Barnes also refused to take a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check after a 15-year-old athlete joined Ribble Valley Running Club, where he was a coach.
UKA's chief operating officer Tom Solesbury said: 'This was a very serious case, and we are satisfied that the outcome reflects the gravity of the behaviour involved. It demonstrates that regardless of your role or position, if you are active in our sport and your conduct falls short of the standards we expect, we will act to address it.
'The vast majority of coaches in our sport uphold the highest standards and make a hugely positive contribution to athletics — and we owe it to them, and to everyone in the sport, to ensure a safe, respectful and supportive environment for all.'
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