|
Football Association boss Martin Glenn has promised that any club guilty of "hushing up" sexual abuse to protect their image will be punished. The FA chief executive was speaking at a news conference on the day it was revealed that a dedicated NSPCC helpline for football received 860 calls in its first week. Seventeen British police forces have confirmed they are investigating fresh allegations of historic abuse. A Greater Manchester Police investigation has received reports from 35 people and has identified 10 suspects, the force said. When asked about reports that some clubs may have paid off alleged victims in return for their silence on the matter, Glenn said this would be investigated by both the police and the FA's independent review. Sitting beside new England manager Gareth Southgate, Glenn said: "We've committed to a full review, shining the light on what happened in the past in football. "We have clear rules in the game and if there's any evidence of a breach of those - and hushing up would be one - when it's our turn to apply the rules, we absolutely will, regardless of size of club." When pressed, however, on the possible existence of non-disclosure agreements and gagging orders, Glenn said: "I can't say if there has been a cover-up in the game (but) I doubt it." Glenn's comments come after the Daily Telegraph reported an allegation that Chelsea made a confidential payment to a former youth team player who accused the club's ex-chief scout, Eddie Heath, of sexually abusing him. The player is reported to have made the allegation, which relates to possible offences in the 1970s, in the last three years. Heath died before the allegation was made. On Tuesday, the club issued a statement to say it has "retained" an external law firm to carry out an investigation. It added that it would co-operate with the FA's wider inquiry, which is being led by Kate Gallafent QC, but would make no further comment until that work was completed. That statement from Stamford Bridge followed FA chairman Greg Clarke's comment that he found the idea of buying a victim's silence "morally repugnant", while the governing body's head of equality and safeguarding Sue Ravenlaw suggested it could also be illegal. This point was picked up by Glenn when he said: "If there are restrictive contracts, through employment law, which prevent people from speaking out about a crime, because that's what we're talking about, then it must be dealt with. "But the primacy needs to be sorted out: where does the police get involved, where does the FA? But the only way this gets dealt with is through openness and honesty." Both he and Southgate added their voices to the chorus of support to the more than 20 players who have come forward to discuss their experiences since former professional Andy Woodward first spoke out a fortnight ago. Aged 46, Southgate is a contemporary of most of this group and told reporters that he played with one of them during his career. He did not name the player although he and Paul Stewart, who has talked publicly about his abuse as a youngster, were at Crystal Palace together in 1994. That was long after Stewart says he was abused by coach Frank Roper, who has since died. "The bravery of the players who have come forward is exceptional - to hear their stories is heartbreaking," said Southgate. "The important thing is that over the next few weeks we still investigate what has happened and we learn from the past. "But I must also say that if I'm a parent sending my child to a game over the weekend, I feel we're in a much better place than we were 15 to 20 years ago." Glenn backed Southgate's view that sexual abuse is a wide, societal problem and said: "Football takes safeguarding very seriously (now) and, if I may say, does it very well." The contrast with the past, however, was made clear shortly after their news conference finished when the National Police Chiefs' Council revealed that around 350 victims have come forward to report historic sexual abuse. And with so many new victims emerging, the need to support them and their families is paramount, which is what a new organisation called the Players Trust is aiming to do. One of its main backers is former sports minister Richard Caborn, who unsuccessfully tried to get the FA and Professional Footballers' Association to support the idea some years ago. In a press release, Caborn said: "More so now than ever before our wonderful game is in need of a truly independent body to advise and support the families of our future talent and the Players Trust is that body. "Their services were presented to the FA and PFA and both parties failed to grasp the significance of the trust. "Now we sadly see why this was an opportunity missed and it is therefore time for the football family to take the initiative and fund the valuable work of the Players Trust. "It is crazy that for around £1 million a year, a fraction of the TV rights money, the game could have a proper body to support young players coming into football."
|
