of £100,000 made in August 2014. He said David Cameron had his full support. In 2013, he called for a mandatory minute's silence at all football games to mark the death of Margaret Thatcher. The Football Association rejected the proposal. Controversies In November 2014, Whelan was accused of making antisemitic statements, following an interview he gave The Guardian, defending his decision to hire Malky Mackay as manager of Wigan. Mackay was under investigation by the FA for alleged racism and antisemitism in e-mails and text messages he sent while manager of Cardiff City. During the interview, Whelan was quoted as saying "Jewish people chase money more than everybody else." The statements were condemned by West Ham United co-chairman David Gold and former FA and Premier League executive Simon Johnson, both of whom are Jewish. Whelan was also accused of racist attitudes by defending Mackay's alleged referral to Chinese people as "chinks". Cardiff City owner, Vincent Tan, who is Malaysian Chinese, said of Whelan, "I think he has insulted the dignity of the Chinese". Whelan later apologised for his remarks. Anti-racist organisation Kick It Out offered support to Whelan, saying that they had a responsibility to ensure that people of his age would understand "modern expectations". Whelan threatened to leave his position at Wigan if the FA found him guilty of racism. At the first match since the controversy, on 22 November against Middlesbrough, he was applauded by Wigan fans as he took his seat in the DW Stadium. On 27 November, the FA charged Whelan with an aggravated breach of FA Rule E3 [2], as his comments had included "a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or nationality and/or religion or belief". He was given a six-week ban and fined £50,000 on 31 December, although the FA investigation concluded that he was neither a racist nor had intended to cause offence. In March the following year, Whelan resigned his position as Wigan chairman, naming as replacement his grandson, David Sharpe, with the Whelan family remaining as majority shareholders. Honours On 30 August 2007 He was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Wigan by Wigan Borough Council. In July 2015 He was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) by the University of Bolton. Football-related honours 1959-60 FA Cup runner-up with Blackburn Rovers 1996-97 Third Division winner with Wigan Athletic 2002-03 Second Division winner with Wigan Athletic