Byrne resigns as Sunderland CEO

Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne resigned on Tuesday in the wake of Adam Johnson's conviction on child sex offences after admitting??she was aware??of inappropriate contact between the player and his victim.

Byrne confessed to a "serious error of judgment" in recommending the former England international be allowed to play for the club despite being told??by Johnson's lawyer in May 2015 that his client had??kissed??the 15-year-old??and sent her a series??of suggestive WhatsApp messages.

He was not sacked by Sunderland??until the start of the trial at Bradford Crown Court last month after he pleaded??guilty to one count of sexual activity with??the girl and one charge of grooming.

He was later found guilty by jury of another, more serious charge of sexual activity with a child, for which he will be sentenced later this month.

"Mr Johnson maintained, as he did throughout the entire process, that he would strenuously fight all charges," Byrne said in a statement.

"Mr Johnson asked me for a recommendation regarding legal representation and I arranged for him to meet Orlando Pownall QC.

"Mr Johnson's father sent me some documents that he asked me to forward to Mr Pownall, which I did. I did not examine the contents of these documents in any detail.

"Because I had recommended Mr Pownall, I attended part of the introductory meeting at which Mr Pownall met with Mr Johnson. This meeting took place on 4 May, 2015.

"After this meeting, Mr Pownall sent me a note to forward to Mr Johnson which recorded, amongst other things, that Mr Johnson had kissed the victim and communicated with her.

"I did not share this information with anybody including the board of Sunderland AFC."

Stressing that she played no part in the plea decisions, Byrne added: ???Contrary to what has been suggested, I did not understand that Mr Johnson intended to change his plea at trial or at all.

"I was astounded when he did plead guilty.

???I accept that Mr Johnson should not have been permitted to play again, irrespective of what he was going to plead. It was a serious error of judgement and I accept full responsibility for this.

"The club's Board was made aware of the broad nature of the allegations, which were a matter of public knowledge, but not of the detail that I was personally privy to.

"Based on the information that I had and satisfied that risk assessments had been made, safeguarding measures put in place and the appropriate bodies consulted, I understood the legal process would run its course.

"Mr Johnson remained innocent until proven guilty and I was concerned that any action taken by the club against him may be misinterpreted as a judgment on the club's part as to his guilt at a time when he steadfastly maintained his determination to plead not guilty and fight the charges.

"On that basis I recommended to the Board that Mr Johnson should be allowed to play for the club, pending trial.

"Mr Johnson's victim has endured a terrible ordeal and for that I am truly sorry."

A Sunderland statement read: "Whilst swift and decisive action was taken to terminate Mr Johnson???s employment upon his guilty plea, decisions taken prior to this, including the decision not to suspend him for a second time pending the outcome of the trial, were wrong.?? In light of what has been acknowledged by Margaret as a serious error of judgement on her part, we have undertaken a full review of the club???s decision-making processes to ensure that there can be no such mistakes in the future.

"Throughout this deeply regretful situation, we recognise that one devoted young fan and her family have been very badly let down, first and foremost by Mr. Johnson and his despicable actions, but also by the club they support. We are so very sorry for this.

"Mr. Johnson lied to the club; he also lied to our fans and they have every right to feel aggrieved by this. Lessons have been learned and we hope that the club and its fans can move forward from this together."