Claims of abuse in football grow as Chelsea makes an apology

Chelsea football club has ‘apologised profusely’ to a former youth player who was sexually abused at the club in the 1970s

In a statement, Chelsea said Mr Johnson 'suffered unacceptably' and that it had 'no desire to hide any historic abuse we uncover from view' (Getty Images)

Chelsea Football Club has “apologised profusely” to a former youth player who was sexually abused at the London club in the 1970s – as the number of claims of abuse across the game as a whole continue to grow.

The Premier League club said in a statement on Saturday that Mr Johnson “suffered unacceptably” and it had “no desire to hide any historic abuse we uncover from view".

The statement from Chelsea over Gary Johnson comes as Michael Bennett, head of player welfare at the Professional Footballer's Association (PFA), said at least 17 more former players had come forward with allegations of abuse within the game – with the organisation looking to contact another 27 people.

The apology from Chelsea comes after 57-year-old Mr Johnson said he was paid £50,000 by the Premier League club not to go public with allegations that he was sexually abused by a former chief scout.

Chelsea admitted that the confidentiality agreement had been “inappropriate” particularly in light of the claims of alleged abuse on a wider scale across the football world.

The club said an external review would examine whether it carried out a proper investigation when the allegations first came to light, and why it did not report them to the Football Association and Premier League.

(Getty Images ) (Getty Images)

Mr Johnson, who was a member of Chelsea’s first team from 1978 to 1981, but joined the club as an 11-year-old in 1970 and claimed he had been groomed from the age of 13 by Eddie Heath, told the Daily Mirror: “I think that they were paying me to keep a lid on this.”

Mr Heath worked for the club between 1968 and 1979, but he died before the allegations were made.

In the statement the club said: “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.”

It said on Tuesday an external law firm had been appointed to carry out a formal investigation into a former employee, but refused to comment on any of the details.

According to Sky News, solicitor Tom West said he had been contacted by another former first team Chelsea player, who also claimed to have been sexually assaulted and was remaining anonymous.

It comes after The Independent ran its own investigation into allegations of historic abuse in football and revealed another allegation involving Chelsea Football Club in the 1970s.

Elsewhere, a former employee of Southampton FC accused of abusing young players at the club in the 1980s is reportedly still working in football.

The staff member is understood to have left Southampton after concerns were raised about his behaviour towards young boys, yet he is thought to still be working in the game.

Young boys were made to line up naked in a changing room to be inspected, a former player – now in his 40s – told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

He said: “I’m angry it’s happening now and wasn’t sorted out years ago.

“There’s lots of failures in the system and he needs to be held accountable.”

According to the broadcaster, the man in his 40s is the fourth former player at the club to make allegations of abuse against the same man, who went on to work for other clubs.

Southampton had previously said it would work with Hampshire police as part of a large scale probe into youth football across the country.

Some 18 police forces are involved in the investigation, as a storm of as many as 350 allegations made across the sport.

So far 10 suspects have been identified and Greater Manchester Police said it was investigating reports from 35 people, with its inquiry growing on a “daily basis”.

Current and former players have urged footballers to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse. Former Southampton player and England captain Alan Shearer said he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by recent revelations and appealed for victims to contact the NSPCC’s football helpline, which has received 860 calls in a week.

The former striker, who also played for Newcastle United, another of the clubs under scrutiny, said anyone who has suffered abuse in the sport, or is still suffering, should come forward.

Current England captain Wayne Rooney, 31, has also joined figures, including women’s captain Steph Houghton, in a video on “safeguarding” published for the FA and NSPCC.

In the clip, which has been published on the FA official Twitter account, Rooney urged any young girls and boys “upset, hurt or scared with the way someone behaves with you” to “let someone you trust know now”.

The NSPCC hotline is available 24 hours a day on 0800 023 2642.