“I can protest, I can say things, but there are a lot of people who are s— scared to talk and that is part of the problem.”
Telegraph Sport has spoken to one senior figure within English football who shares Ouseley’s sentiments but has declined to go public.
An “upset” GFSN chairman, Ed Connell, was prepared to speak out, saying of the code: “It simply doesn’t seem to make any sense. It looks as though you’re deciding there are certain groups which need greater protection than others.
“We must be working towards having diverse governing bodies in sport full stop.”
Level Playing Field, which campaigns within sport on behalf of disabled people, declined to comment.
Monday’s publication of the code, which goes further than equivalent codes in other sectors in terms of promoting diversity, was welcomed by the chairman of equality campaigners Sporting Equals, Densign White.
“There is an expectation within the code that sports organisations will widen their recruitment pool to attract professional applicants with broad-ranging skills, experience and networks that organisations are in need of, thus, increasing the diversity of thought within an organisation,” he said.
“Diversity is truly the golden thread that runs through the code, giving opportunities to black, Asian and minority ethnic individuals who will be able to compete on a level playing field for non-executive board positions.”
The requirement for the boards of sports governing bodies to move to ensure 30 per cent of their boards are female was imposed after governing bodies failed to meet a voluntary 25 per cent target set in 2013.