FA investigators seek evidence of paedophile ring
Scope of inquiry into child abuse revealed Final report due to be released early next year
The review into English football’s child sexual abuse scandal is investigating whether a paedophile ring operated in the game, it can be disclosed.
The inquiry into how the Football Association and the country’s clubs dealt with the alleged abuse of schoolboy players between 1970 and 2005 – and whether there was any cover-up – is also examining girls’ football during that period.
Almost six months after it was launched on the back of an avalanche of harrowing allegations at the end of last year, details can be revealed about the scope and status of the review into what FA chairman Greg Clarke admitted was the biggest crisis he could recall the game facing.
As well as looking at whether there was a network of paedophiles abusing young players and investigating both boys’ and girls’ football, that review will:
Examine up to five million documents held in an FA archive.
Probe the use of gag clauses by clubs paying off alleged victims.
Scrutinise the role of officials from affected teams who also held positions at the FA.
Make recommendations about the governing body’s safeguarding processes if it identifies weaknesses.
Report any evidence of criminal activity to the police.
Aim to publish its final report early next year.
Led by Clive Sheldon QC, the review was commissioned by the FA after the potential scale of the game’s child sexual abuse scandal became clear following revelations by lead whistle-blower Andy Woodward and other survivors.
A hotline set up in the wake of the scandal continues to receive calls, while the latest figures from Operation Hydrant, the police investigation into non-recent allegations of sexual abuse, shows it has had 1,432 referrals and has identified 560 victims aged between four and 20, 96 per cent of whom are male.
It has identified 252 suspects, with 311 clubs impacted, including several in the Premier League. Sheldon will also try to discover whether perpetrators acted independently or were part of a local or national paedophile ring.
Approximately 5,000 boxes, each filled with up to 1,000 pages, need to be opened and examined to establish whether they contain material pertinent to safeguarding.
The review will also examine the use of gag clauses by clubs privately settling abuse claims, such as the one The Daily Telegraph exclusively revealed Chelsea had imposed on a victim of their former chief scout, Eddie Heath.
It emerged last night that eight professional clubs had failed to meet two deadlines to submit information they might hold of interest to the inquiry after Sheldon wrote to all 65,000 Fa-affiliated teams.
Those clubs were referred to the governing body, which could take disciplinary action against them for non-cooperation.