Former Chelsea player claims he was paid sex abuse hush money

Former Chelsea player Gary Johnson says he was paid $ 50,000 by the English Premier League club not to go public with allegations that he was sexually abused by the club’s former chief scout Eddie Heath.

It was reported earlier this week that Chelsea had made a payment to an individual in the last three years following allegations regarding Heath.

Johnson has waived his anonymity to say he was the former player.

“I think that they were paying me to keep a lid on this,” Johnson said in the Daily Mirror.

“Millions of fans around the world watch Chelsea. They are one of the biggest and richest clubs in the world.

“All their fans deserve to know the truth about what went on. I know they asked me to sign a gagging order and how many others are there out there?

“We need total transparency now for the good of the game.”

Chelsea said on Wednesday it had appointed an external law firm to carry out a formal investigation.

“The club has also contacted the FA to ensure that all possible assistance is provided as part of their wider investigation. This will include providing the FA with any relevant information arising out of the club’s investigation.”

Yesterday, Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn said any club guilty of “hushing up” sexual abuse to protect their image would be punished.

“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,” Glenn said.

Johnson, 57, was a member of Chelsea’s first team from 1978 to 1981, but joined the club as an 11- year- old in 1970 and claimed he had been groomed from the age of 13 by Heath.

“I felt shame, I felt my childhood had been taken away,” Johnson said. “I spent my late teens in turmoil, absolute turmoil.”

Heath, who was the club’s chief scout from 1968 to 1979, died before the allegations were made.