The Football Association has reportedly launched a safeguarding probe into a ‘leading Premier League figure’ who was previously investigated by police for a number of alleged sexual offences.
It is claimed that three women have reported the man to police over a period of several years. All the cases have now been dropped.
The individual cannot be named because of privacy laws which grant him anonymity unless he faces criminal charges. He has never been charged and denies any wrongdoing.
Earlier this year, the Crown Prosecution Service reportedly decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the individual. But according to The Athletic, the FA has launched an evidence-gathering process after growing concerned.
The governing body’s safeguarding team are reportedly putting together a dossier to determine what steps they take next. It has the power to hand the person an interim suspension while a risk assessment report is produced.
One of the women who reported the man to police alleged that she was raped at the man’s house when she was 15. However, detectives dealing with the case could not proceed due to a controversial anomaly under the 1956 Sexual Offences Act.
Where an alleged offence 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 case could otherwise not proceed.
When the 2003 Act came into force in May 2004, that time limit – which does not apply to boys – was abandoned for fresh incidents but it still applied if the alleged attack happened in the previous 48 years.
The BBC reports that the FA have made contact with one of the women who made a complaint. She first contacted the organisation in 2023.
She said: “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.”
The FA is aware that the man is still working in football and is potentially in close proximity to women and girls who are unaware of the complaints.
An FA spokesperson told the BBC: “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.”
