Former England Women international Sue Smith has described the controversy surrounding Mark Sampson's departure as Lionesses boss as "a real mess".

The 34-year-old was sacked as head coach after details emerged of "inappropriate and unacceptable" behaviour during his previous role as boss of Bristol Academy.

Sampson was cleared of racism, harassment and bullying allegations made by ex-England player Eni Aluko on two separate occasions and, according to the Football Association, his dismissal is not linked to said allegations.

"It's a mess. It's a real mess and I think anybody associated with women's football thinks that and it's just a difficult time," Smith told Sky Sports News.

"We've always wanted media coverage and exposure, we want to raise the game but we don't want to raise it like this. You want it to be for football reasons.

"The fact that England have come off the back of a 6-0 win over Russia - which was a fantastic result - has been forgotten because of what has happened with Mark Sampson.

"It's a difficult time for women's football but I think it is something they can get through."

Sampson has led the Lionesses to two successive semi-finals in major competitions in the past four years.