‘Gagging orders used to silence players’

GAGGING orders have allegedly been used by “a number” of football clubs to silence players speaking out about abuse, according to a lawyer representing a new body supporting victims.

Edward Smethurst said “calls and emails are coming in all the time” from players who say they had been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements with clubs in return for compensation. The Offside Trust, an independent organisation set up by former players who suffered abuse, has also received allegations against people who still work in the “senior echelons” of the sport, the lawyer said.

The claims come after Chelsea FC apologised to former player Gary Johnson for the abuse he suffered as a trainee in the 1970s, having waived the confidentiality clause in a £50,000 agreement they made with him last year.

Speaking at the launch of The Offside Trust in Manchester, Mr Smethurst said: “Allegations have been made by victims that confidentiality clauses have been used in relation to other clubs, but I’m not in a position to independently verify this. It’s unfolding as we speak. It’s a number. It’s several (but) less than five.”

The award-winning lawyer, who also chairs the Madeleine McCann Fund, said it was important clubs “should not hush these things up and tie victims up in confidentiality”. QUIZ ANSWERS: 1. Palaeontology. 2. Lion. 3. Ganges. 4. Venezuela. 5. Four. 6. Mosquitoes. Missing link: WHEEL.