FA to investigate Premier club boss over alleged sexual offences

The Football Association has opened a safeguarding inquiry into a Premier League club boss, a year on from a BBC investigation.

The investigation found that despite three women reporting the man to the police for alleged sexual offences, he remained in position at the club.

One of the women told the BBC the FA had failed to protect women and girls by taking no action, despite her being under 16 at the time of the alleged incident.

Sports news publication The Athletic have reported and the BBC understands that following the police decision to take no further action, the FA have now opened an inquiry of its own.

A spokesperson for the national governing body said they do not comment on individual cases but they have “robust safeguarding measures in place”.

In an email from the end of October, seen by the BBC, the FA invited one of the complainants, who we are calling Kate, to a meeting to discuss her experiences as part of their safeguarding investigation. They added that they will not be able to share with her any details of their investigations including any outcome reached once complete.

Kate first contacted the FA in July 2023, where she told them she had reported the man to the police for a historic rape that she says happened when she was 15. However, she believes nothing was done by the FA until now.

“Football authorities and [the] government seem to have turned a blind eye, deaf ear and chose to say and do nothing to protect females from the threats he poses to girls and women,” she told the BBC in reaction to the news of an FA inquiry.

While Kate is glad the investigation has been opened she says she has serious concerns about the lack of transparency about any action taken. “We need assurances that all females at the club are safe,” she adds.

The boss was also investigated in 2021 after an allegation that he sexually abused a different 15-year-old in the 1990s. No further action was taken in that case because of legislation which stated that if an offence of “unlawful sexual intercourse” took place between 1956 and 2004, and the alleged victim was a girl aged 13 to 15, she had to make a complaint within a year.

The BBC spoke to a third woman, who says in the late 90s she was locked in a room by the boss as he attempted to coerce her into sexual activity. She says this took place during a job interview when she was in her early 20s.

All three investigations have now been dropped by the police.

In November of last year the BBC found that seven out of 20 Premier League clubs have had players or bosses investigated by the police for sexual offences since 2020.

FA regulations only cover how to respond to allegations of this nature if they occur within a “football environment”, or if concerns relate to children or vulnerable adults.

Their policies allow the governing body to impose an interim suspension order blocking the individual from some or all activity within the game while it continues investigating.

Such an order can be imposed where the FA receives information that causes it “reasonably to believe that a person poses or may pose a risk of harm”.

The new inquiry will be led by the FA’s professional game safeguarding manager.

A spokesperson for the national governing body said: “We investigate and assess all allegations and concerns about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children and adults at risk in football and, where applicable, can impose proportionate safeguarding measures in accordance with FA safeguarding regulations.”