English clubs braced for £100m abuse claims EXCLUSIVE
ENGLISH football clubs have begun privately assessing possible financial ramifications of the game’s sexual abuse scandal, which some legal sources believe could cost the industry £100 million in compensation payments.
The Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal that between 150 and 200 claims for financial compensation could eventually materialise, after the Irish Daily Mail disclosed yesterday that some of the 31 alleged victims of a single deceased coach alone have begun financial proceedings against Blackpool. The latest official figures released on June 30 by police show there were 714 alleged victims of historic abuse in football by that date, at the hands of 276 alleged suspects across 328 clubs at all levels.
‘It has already grown beyond that and will continue to grow,’ Steve Walters, a co-founder of the Offside Trust, told the Mail yesterday. Walters, 45, a former Crewe midfielder, went public last year with his own experiences of alleged abuse at the hands of a coach against whom legal action is ongoing.
The Trust was established to support victims of abuse and their families, and while they are not currently advocating compensation claims as an organisation, Walters confirms he knows some victims are pursuing such action.
‘We’re not looking to get involved in anything like that for now,’ he said. ‘For anything legal, victims need to see child abuse specialist lawyers. The problem we have at the Offside Trust is most [of us] have live [criminal] cases ongoing so compensation is a long way down the path.
‘I can understand why players are doing that [making claims]. It’s up to each individual. People have grievances. We’re here to support survivors and improve safeguarding in sport and football.’
Walters added that the priority for his group now is ‘that the complete
truth needs to come out now’. One lawyer, working on cases for clients with claims against clubs including Manchester City, Aston Villa, Southampton and Crewe, among others, says he believes financial claims will be pursued primarily against professional clubs — because there is no realistic prospect of payouts from amateur organisations with no resources.
There remains the prospect of legal action against the Football Association as a body, if an ongoing independent inquiry by Clive Sheldon, QC, concludes the FA were negligent in their duty of care to players in historic cases. But no current such action has been confirmed. Claims that materialise against individual clubs may yet be substantial, said one lawyer, based not just on punitive damages for harm — and in some cases cover-ups — but also potentially for loss of earnings in an industry that can be hugely lucrative for top players.
‘It’s virtually impossible to put a ceiling on what the final figure might be,’ said the lawyer. ‘Hundreds of cases where entire livelihoods and career prospects were ruined can’t be underestimated. It could be £100m or more.’
This newspaper is aware of several law firms already handling small groups of cases while at least two class actions are being prepared.
The lawyers involved are variously based in London, Manchester, the Midlands and the north-east and the claims involve clubs from the top of the Premier League down to the non-League.
The Irish Daily Mail revealed that 31 alleged victims of youth coach Frank Roper, who was most closely associated with Blackpool, have come forward so far, and a small group of those are suing Blackpool, who have acknowledged receipt of the legal papers but declined to comment. All clubs implicated in allegations have said they will co-operate with police, the FA and any other relevant investigations.
The only club publicly confirmed to have paid an alleged victim is Chelsea. It was revealed late last year by former striker Gary Johnson that Chelsea paid him £50,000 in recent years not to make public allegations that he was sexually abused by the club’s former chief scout, Eddie Heath, now deceased, as a boy.
That payout came with a gagging order but when Johnson told his story, Chelsea apologised ‘profusely’ for their treatment of him, and effectively lifted the gag, making it clear they would not stop him talking about his experience. Johnson then said the £50,000 was ‘not enough for the pain and suffering I’ve had.’
It is not known if Johnson is taking further action against Chelsea but the IMoS understands that multiple alleged victims of Heath are consulting lawyers about compensation.
One lawyer acting for them has said the police have visited Chelsea in the past month as part of their own ongoing investigations, and he has told his clients: ‘Chelsea’s position is they are still assessing the extent of their liability.’
It is likely to take years for proceedings – legal and financial – to reach a conclusion, not least given the diversity of the cases.
Many involve living coaches facing criminal trials during the coming year while others, involving late alleged perpetrators, will be no more easy to bring to a swift conclusion.