QC’S report on sex abuse at Chelsea cites Gradi in failure to act on allegations against Heath
Dario Gradi missed a chance to stop “dangerous and prolific child abuser” Eddie Heath from sexually assaulting youth players at Chelsea, a report has found.
Chelsea have issued an unreserved apology for the“terrible past experiences” of some former youth players, on publishing Charles Geekie Q C’s report into non-recent child sexual abuses.
Heath coached Chelsea’ s youth teams from 1968 to 1979 and died in December 1983, with the Stamford Bridge board now branding his conduct “beyond reprehensible”.
“Mr Gradi is the single example of a clear account of an adult in a position of responsibility at the club being informed about an allegation in relation to Mr Heath at the very time of the events complained of ,” states Geekie in his report. “The consequence of my findings is that the complaint made about Mr Heath was not referred to more senior members of the club and an opportunity to prevent Mr Heath from going on to abuse others was lost. I consider it absolutely necessary in order to achieve the purpose of the review to name Mr Gradi.”
Gradi was appointed an assistant coach at Chelsea in January 1971, with the review unable to establish if he left in 1975 or 1976. Now 78, Gradi is accused of attempting to smooth over allegations of Heath assaulting a youth player during a visit to the player and his father.
Geekie explains in the review that Gradi knew he would be named in the report, the ex-Crewe chief eventually giving his own account to the inquiry.
Gradi told the Geekie report that the father of the boy did not want the complaint to “get Eddie Heath into trouble”, insisting he informed club management of the allegations.
“The fact that he (the father) didn’t want it to go any further, in other words, took the pressure off me as far as I was concerned,” Gradi is quoted as saying in the Geekie report.
“I think I probably would have tried to stand up for Eddie Heath a bit.”
When asked if he offered an apology, Gradi told the Geekie report: “No. What could I apologise for?”
Gradi has cooperated with the FA’S own historic sexual abuses review, headed by Clive Sheldon QC, and has been contacted for comment.
Geekie described Gr ad i’s accounts as “unconvincing” in his report, insisting his words “challenge credibility”.
The Barnardo’s review into historic racial abuse also criticised Chelsea’s former academy director Gwyn Williams.
Williams and Graham Rix have previously strongly denied allegations they racially abused Stamford Bridge youth players.
R ix worked at Chelsea between 1993 and 2000, while Williams joined the Blues in 1979 and left in 2006.
“Barnardo’s reviewers take the view that, whilst it appears that Graham R ix could be aggressive and bullying, on the evidence presented to them, he was not racially abusive. In the view of the reviewers the same cannot be said of Gwyn Williams,” read the report into non-recent racist abuse.
“The evidence strongly indicates to there viewers that there was racially abu - sive behaviour towards black young people at Chelsea Football Club during the 1980s and 1990s and that based on information from those spoken to, that Gwyn Williams was the instigator of such abuse.”