THERE IS NO HIDING PLACE

As the daily revelations of football’s child abuse scandal rock the game, our clubs MUST tell all

‘PEOPLE TURNED A BLIND EYE TO WHAT WAS GOING ON’ Football’s Darkest Secret: Pages 86-87

SPORTSMAIL today calls on Scottish football clubs to reveal all they know about the historic child abuse scandal that is sweeping the game.

Five of our nation’s senior clubs — Celtic, Rangers, Hibernian, Falkirk and Partick Thistle — are now coming to terms with a bright light being shone on uncomfortable, dark moments in their past.

And as the scandal grows ever deeper and wider, Tam Baillie, the country’s Children and Young People’s Commissioner, last night issued a stark warning that the abuse scandal could soon spread across other Scottish sports.

With fresh allegations likely to follow, Sportsmail declares it the moral responsibility of all Scottish clubs aware of any past historical incidents of abuse to come forward proactively and declare them to the authorities.

Yesterday, former Celtic, Falkirk and Hibs kitman Jim McCafferty (71) was arrested and charged in Belfast over child sex offences. He has admitted sexually abusing youth footballers at Celtic between 1990 and 1996.

A spokesman for Hibernian said: ‘Everyone at the Club was shocked to read this man’s comments about his time in football. Hibernian will assist the police with their inquiries in every way that we can, and we would urge anyone who may have any information which can assist with inquiries to contact Police Scotland on 101. We would also remind anyone who may have been a victim of abuse that a helpline has been set up, 0800 023 2642

From Back Page or via email at childrenswellbeing@ scottishfa.co.uk.’ Celtic responded by saying: ‘This is an extremely serious allegation which we have immediately passed on to Police Scotland. We suggest any information or evidence you have should also be forwarded to police.’ And today, Sportsmail is calling on our clubs to do exactly that. As the daily, drip-feed of shocking allegations leaves the reputation of our game in the gutter, it is up to our member clubs to ensure that tarnished image is restored. The Scottish FA, in conjunction with Police Scotland, PFA Scotland and the NSPCC this week established a ‘task force’ to deal with the allegations that have surfaced — and those yet to reach the public domain. For the good of Scottish football our clubs must ensure they assist this task force, no matter the painful memories they may uncover. Last night it emerged former Partick Thistle physiotherapist John Hart was sacked after being accused of child sex abuse in 1992. The club also confirmed it had received a fresh call reporting another potential historic abuse case. The lack of police involvement meant Hart was able to continue working at his own private practice, even after the Firhill outfit dismissed him. Hart died in 1995 and, in an announcement of his death in a match-day programme from the time, Thistle praised him as: ‘one of the best, if not THE best physio in the country,’ adding he had the ‘most incredible sense of humour’ which was ‘marvellous for morale’. Partick Thistle’s current board and management last night furiously denied it had known about — and covered up — Hart’s sexual abuse for more than 20 years. The club vowed to comply fully with any investigation. In its statement, the Glasgow outfit said: ‘As part of a proactive response to the emergence of alleged abuse in football, Partick Thistle has identified one historic allegation of abuse made against a former club employee, who is now deceased. ‘The employee worked for the club for two years as a physiotherapist. As soon as the alleged abuse was raised in 1992, the club dismissed the individual with immediate effect. As far as Thistle’s current management can ascertain, no other allegations were made to the club at that time with regard to him or any other employee. In the last 24 hours, we have been approached by an anonymous individual asking for advice on who to contact with concerns relating to historic events. The club advised he ring the NSPCC hotline in line with SFA guidance.’ Thistle then released another statement, saying: ‘Some media reports have wrongly implied that the Partick Thistle board and management has known about an allegation of sexual abuse since 1992 and has covered it up. ‘The current board and management knew nothing of this until an internal investigation uncovered it in the last few days. As a result, the club informed the SFA and Police Scotland.’ Earlier this week, Police Scotland confirmed they were investigating a report of sexual abuse in the 1980s, believed to involve former Hibs coach Gordon Neely. Neely, who died in 2014 aged 62, was fired by Rangers in 1990 following an accusation of inappropriate behaviour. And on Monday, Scottish FA chief Stewart Regan issued an apology for past failures of the organisation after former youth coach and ex top-flight assistant referee Hugh Stevenson — who died in 2004 — was accused of a catalogue of child sex offences. Pete Haynes (50) reported the allegations against Stevenson to the police and the SFA in the 1990s but was never told of any outcome. Instead, by way of an apology, Haynes says he was offered a tour of the SFA’s Park Gardens headquarters. Baillie, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner, fears these revelations are merely the tip of the iceberg as sport is a favoured hunting ground for sexual predators. ‘I fear this won’t just be about football,’ he told BBC Scotland. ‘There will be more revelations and the chances are there will be other sports involved because we know that people with predatory behaviour are tenacious, they are clever, they know how to groom children and families to seek trust. So we always, sadly, have to be alert to people who seek to exploit for the abuse of children.’