Former football coach on trial

A former football coach accused of sexually assaulting youth players has told a court how he became “very irate” after “sexual innuendos” were made against him.

Bob Higgins, who ran the schoolboy coaching programmes for Southampton and Peterborough United, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of 50 counts of indecent assault against 24 complainants dating between 1971 and 1996.

The trial has heard the 65-year-old defendant was acquitted at a trial in the early 1990s of indecent assaults against young players at Southampton. The allegations reached court for the earlier trial after the issue was raised by the team’s youth manager David Merrington, who the defendant said he had previous disagreements with.

Higgins denies the charges. The trial continues.