The English Football Association has opened a safeguarding inquiry into a leading Premier League figure who has previously been investigated by the police for a number of sex offences.
The man in question, a well-known name in England’s top division, cannot be identified because of UK privacy laws granting him anonymity unless he faces criminal charges. He has never been charged and denies any wrongdoing.
At least three women have reported him to the police over a number of years, making allegations of sexual offences. All the cases have now been dropped.
This year, in two of the cases, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided there was not enough evidence to prosecute him, and the third complaint was made too late. However, the FA remains sufficiently concerned to begin its own investigation to determine “the risk this individual may, or does, pose to children and/or adults at risk within affiliated football”. If the FA believes there is a risk, it has the power to issue an interim suspension order while a full risk assessment report is carried out.
The evidence-gathering process started this week and David Gregson, the FA’s professional game safeguarding manager, is putting together a dossier to determine what, if anything, the sport’s governing body does next.
One of the three women contacted the police towards the end of 2021, alleging she was raped at the man’s house when she was 15 years old. Her complaint was referred to a specialist police unit for investigating sexual offences against under-16s.
Detectives investigating her complaint, however, could not proceed because of a little-known legal anomaly — under the 1956 Sexual Offences Act — that has been described by the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) as “devastating” and “heartbreaking” for the people it works against. The legislation states that if the alleged offence took place between 1956 and 2004, and the alleged victim was a girl aged 13 to 15, she had to make a complaint within a year or the case could not proceed.
That time limit, which did not apply to boys, was abandoned when the 2003 Sexual Offences Act came into place in May 2004 but still applied if the alleged attack happened in the previous 48 years. As such, she was told a decision had been taken by the CPS for no further action to be taken. The man was not arrested and the case has been left on file.
The FA’s safeguarding department is aware the man is still working within football, potentially in close proximity to adult and junior female footballers who are unaware of the legal issues.
He voluntarily attended a police station on June 12, accompanied by a solicitor, to answer allegations from one of the aforementioned women that he had committed a non-recent rape. He was interviewed under caution but not arrested. That case has not led to criminal charges, though the woman has requested a review of the police’s decision to take no further action.
“We have robust safeguarding measures in place and all referrals into us are handled in line with our policies and procedures,” read an FA statement. ”We investigate and assess all allegations and concerns about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children and adults in football and, where applicable, can impose proportionate safeguarding measures in accordance with FA safeguarding regulations. We do not comment on individual cases.”
(Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
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