FALLING APART
REVEALED: How the OffsideTrust set up by brave victims of football’s sex abuse scandal is already...
December 5, 2016, midland Hotel, manchester. An elegant room at the grand, edwardian landmark in the centre of the city is filled with cameras and reporters for a hastily arranged press conference.
On a makeshift stage, Andy Woodward is sitting beside his former team-mate Steve Walters and there are a number of explayers present.
Woodward, shaking, bravely holds back tears as he faces the flashes and lenses. He refers to Walters and chris Unsworth, another former player, as his ‘ brothers’ and references ‘our new family’.
They are powerful words. The three men have what appears to be an unshakeable bond. Just over two weeks previously, Woodward gave an interview to the Guardian which rocked football to its core. In it, he spoke with clarity and graphic honesty of years of systematic sexual abuse at the hands of one of his former coaches.
In homes across the country, Woodward’s tale inspired others who had suffered similar, harrowing experiences to come forward and make their own allegations.
Walters and Unsworth are two of that group. emboldened by Woodward, both have spoken of their own ordeals. Walters is here to launch something called the Offside Trust, of which he and Unsworth are directors.
Former bbc anchor Gordon burns, brought in to look after public relations, makes the introductions. To Woodward’s far left sits a lawyer, ed Smethurst, of Prosperity Law.
The talk is of building a network of support for those abused, of improving education and of ensuring that an environment which turns a blind eye to the sickening, industrial-scale abuse suffered by a growing number of victims is never allowed to reappear. There is also talk of funding and an appeal for backing.
Fast forward almost four months and things have changed somewhat. In February, it was announced that Woodward, the trust’s founder, was no longer a director. The split was reported as amicable and it was mentioned that Woodward would carry on as an ambassador.
Sportsmail understands that is not the case and that ‘amicable’ is far from the correct adjective to describe the break. While Woodward declined to comment for this piece, sources close to the former crewe Alexandra, bury and Sheffield United defender say he is ‘ deeply hurt and upset’ at what has transpired.
He is no longer an ambassador and has effectively been eexcludedcuded from the trust. A reconcilia-onciliation is not on the cards.s.
The man whose braveryery shone a light on thehe scandal that has spreadd across the world feels like he has been booted out of his own attempt at legacy.
Indeed, Woodward only found out that he had been removed from the trust when a third party mentionedd it on Twitter.
‘The trust was Andy’sy’s idea,’ a source said. ‘When he first came out his phone was ringing off the hookok — that first month he was like a helpline. The first calls he had were from Steve and chris and I think for Andy it felt like the right thing to do to bring them on board, a gesture of goodwill. They were all deeply traumatised and they were helping each other.’
The source added that Woodward was still unsure over why he was no longer involved.
‘I don’t think he knows why this has happened,’ they said. ‘ He feels let down by it. He feels isolated.’
There have been attempts to mend the relationship. ‘Andy has sent text messages and so has his partner but they have had no response,’ the source added. ‘It’s all incredibly sad. When all this started it was a whirlwind and everyone was all over the place. Now the dust has settled but Andy has been left on the outside.’
At a recent event attended by all, it was sad to see a noticeable split. The men sat apart and did not appear to speak throughout.
Independent attempts at reconciliation have also proved fruitless.
IN a statement, Walters does not address the fallout or Woodward’s departure. He does, however, state: ‘We would not be here without support (from the public) or the tremendous courage of Andy Woodward.’
Walters adds that the trust is trying to identify how it can make the greatest difference and says the priority is ‘to make every child in sport safe and make sure no one suffers in the way we have’.
He says that new supporters and advisers are on board to ‘help shape a clear strategy on how to end child abuse in sport’.
As part of the changes, Prosperity Law are also no longer involved. A potential conflict of interest was the elephant in the room — how could a trust potentially ask for funding from bodies such as the FA and Premier League when it may at one point be suing those organisations?
In a statement to this newspaper, Prosperity Law confirmed that they are no longer part of the trust. Smethurst acknowledged that a perceived conflict of goals in his first four games for Saints. interest was one of the reasons for a ‘ totally amicable’ split. So where does this leave the trust? Its website is under construction and it is not a registered charity. It has not stopped a social media campaign asking high- profile clubs and players to show their support.
‘It’s tricky,’ said a source at one Premier League club. ‘ We are being asked to retweet something and we have no idea what. While I am sure there is nothing underhand, we just can’t lend our backing to something we are not familiar with.’
The trust has brought in entrepreneur Lady Grantchester and the human rights lawyer Kat craig and both appear welcome additions. As Walters points out, they are working on a business plan and are searching for where the trust fits in.
Should they locate that place, it would be fitting if they could also find a way of bringing the man who made it all possible back into the fold.