Colin Kazim-Richards has been sacked as Crawley Town head coach after a difficult start to the League Two season.

The former Celtic striker’s departure was announced following Tuesday’s 3-2 home defeat to Shrewsbury.

Crawley have lost seven of their opening ten league matches, with assistant Julian Gray and director of football Erdem Konyar also leaving.

Our Celtic manager page covers his record and background.

📰 CLUB STATEMENT

Crawley Town Football Club can confirm that Head Coach Colin Kazim-Richards and Assistant Head Coach Julian Gray have been relieved of their duties with immediate effect.

Director of Football Erdem Konyar will also be leaving the club.

The club would like to place on record its sincere thanks to Colin and Julian, who joined during a challenging period and played an important role in securing the club’s EFL status at the end of last season. We would also like to thank Erdem for his hard work and commitment since returning to the club last year.

All three depart with the best wishes of everyone at Crawley Town, and we wish them every success in their future endeavours.

The club will make no further comment at this time.

#TownTeamTogether🔴

— Crawley Town FC (@crawleytown) October 20, 2026

It brings an abrupt end to Kazim-Richards’ first senior management job, having helped Crawley avoid relegation last season.

He was appointed in March with the club fighting to preserve their Football League status.

Survival was secured on the final day, earning him the permanent position in May.

A substantial rebuild followed, with 16 players arriving during the summer. Results this season, however, have left Crawley struggling again.

His departure comes shortly after he spoke about the barriers facing black managers.

Asked by The Guardian whether a glass ceiling remained, Kazim-Richards said: “Is there still a glass ceiling? Of course.”

He argued that capable black coaches working in academies and non-league football deserved opportunities to progress into senior management.

Kazim-Richards’ own opportunity at Crawley initially brought a significant achievement in keeping the club up, but he will now have to look elsewhere to continue his coaching career.

Celtic supporters will remember his brief spell under Ronny Deila in 2016.

The former Turkey international made 13 appearances for the Hoops, scoring twice before leaving for Brazilian side Coritiba that summer.

His time at Parkhead was short, and his first managerial role has now ended after a demanding few months.