I absolutely agree that the failure to restore the principal is an outrage. I can imagine that it would be an extremely tough job and that it would be nearly impossible to act in such a way that everybody loved you and nobody thought you’d never made the wrong call on something. In other words, some people believing he “might have said it” doesn’t mean he really might have said it and certainly doesn’t mean he should be treated as if he had. If you are stood down for things that it turns out you never did, then you must be restored to your position, full stop. That is natural justice. If others are “uncomfortable” because of things they did or said when it seemed he had said those things, that is for them to deal with.