Chelsea apologises to abused former player
London (Reuters) English soccer club Chelsea issued a public apology to former striker Gary Johnson on Saturday for the sexual abuse he suffered as a young player and said it had been wrong to insist on a confidentiality clause when paying him compensation.
Johnson, 57, said on Friday that he had been abused by former Chelsea chief scout Eddie Heath in the 1970s, receiving 50,000 pounds from the club in settlement in 2015.
In a statement the club said their former player had “suffered unacceptably” and they had “no desire to hide any historic abuse we uncover from view”.
Chelsea added that an external review would establish whether they carried out a proper investigation when the allegations first surfaced.
“We are fully committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children and young people who are in our care or attending our premises. Their welfare is of paramount importance,” said the club.
Johnson, who played for the first team between 1978 and 1981, joined Chelsea in 1970 when he was 11 and told the Mirror newspaper that he had been groomed from the age of 13 by Heath who was chief scout from 1968 to 1979.
Heath died before the allegations became public.