LONDON: The number of football clubs who have been brought up in the historic sex abuse enquiry, which has rocked the sport has risen by 100 in the past month to 248 in figures released on Wednesday.
The clubs range from Premier League to amateur level and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) are at pains to point out that does not mean they are under investigation but have been ‘referenced when information is submitted’.
Last month the NPCC revealed that four of the clubs were from the Premier League although none were named.
The number of alleged victims stands at 526 with the youngest aged four and 97% of them are male — there are 184 potential suspects who have been identified.
Not all the alleged victims or perpetrators come from football with 10 other sports implicated including rugby, gymnastics, the martial arts and athletics.
Chief Constable Simon Bailey, National Police Chiefs’ Council leader for Child Protection, said the wave of allegations that had been made in the initial stages were slowing down but appealed for anyone who had yet to come forward to do so.
“Operation Hydrant (the historic sex abuse enquiry hub encompassing all walks of life) is beginning to see a decrease in the number of referrals being received via the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) helpline and directly to forces relating to allegations of abuse within football, and other sports,” he said in a statement.
“Allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse are complex, and often require specialist skills and knowledge, and can take time to progress.
“However, all allegations and information received by police forces across the country are being acted upon.
“We continue to urge anyone who may have been a victim of child sexual abuse to report it, regardless of how long ago the abuse may have taken place.
“We will listen and treat all reports sensitively and seriously. Anyone with any information regarding child sexual abuse is also urged to come forward.”
The scandal blew up in November when Andy Woodward went public over the abuse he had suffered at the hands of a convicted child molester at Crewe Alexandra.
Several ex-professional players have since gone public with several coming from Chelsea — in an era well before present owner Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich bought the club — claiming to have been abused by scout Eddie Heath in the 1970’s.
One of them, Gary Johnson, received compensation of £50,000 ($63,850, €59,230) in 2015 from the present regime but with a gagging order as part of the deal.
He subsequently broke the order to reveal his story and told the BBC in an interview he will demand more in the way of compensation because the abuse had “taken away his childhood.”
Heath, who had similar allegations levelled at him from former youth players at another London club Charlton Athletic where he went after he was sacked by Chelsea in 1979 although not for sexual impropriety, cannot defend himself as he died in 1983 aged 54.
Chelsea have launched an internal investigation over the slew of allegations of historic abuse made by former players.
Over 200 clubs ‘impacted’ in UK sex abuse scandal: Police
Over 200 clubs ‘impacted’ in UK sex abuse scandal: Police
Dembélé stars as PSG crushes bitter rival Marseille 5-0 to regain top spot in Ligue 1
- The win restored defending champion PSG’s two-point lead over Lens after 21 rounds, with Marseille in fourth place behind Lyon after the humiliating defeat
PARIS: Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé starred with two goals and an assist as Paris Saint-Germain crushed bitter rival Marseille 5-0 to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
The win restored defending champion PSG’s two-point lead over Lens after 21 rounds, with Marseille in fourth place behind Lyon after the humiliating defeat.
“We wanted to send a message that we’re back,” Dembélé said after PSG’s biggest winning margin against Marseille.
“It was almost perfect,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “It’s an important day for our fans because we made history, 5-0 never happened before.”
Despite PSG’s attacking flair, Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi’s choices will be scrutinized following a truly dismal performance from his side lacking composure and fight. Marseille was eliminated from the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat against Club Brugge less than two weeks ago.
“Once again, I say sorry to the fans,” De Zerbi said. “I’m not in the players’ heads. I thought we had prepared well for this game but clearly not. We need to understand why we played this way in Bruges and here.”
Top scorer Mason Greenwood, fellow forward Amine Gouiri and new signing Ethan Nwaneri were anonymous in attack, with veteran Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the bench.
De Zerbi dropped goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli after a couple of poor performances and replaced him with Jeffrey de Lange, who was out of sorts, albeit not helped by his defense.
De Lange was easily beaten when Dembélé side-footed in a cross from left back Nuno Mendes in the 12th minute following a quick break launched by Désiré Doué.
However, PSG could have been down to 10 players before then. Midfielder Vitinha caught defender Leonardo Balerdi’s ankle with a late tackle but escaped with a yellow card.
Having denied Bradley Barcola with a fine low save, De Lange was beaten again in the 37th when Dembélé profited from a glaring error from Balerdi.
He let the ball through his legs on PSG’s right flank, allowing Dembélé to attack the penalty area, dribble past him and find the roof of the net.
“We can’t accept this, we don’t come here to play like this,” said Balerdi, who did not mention his own performance. “We were not good enough and you could see it. Against such a team you pay for it.”
Marseille’s weak defense cracked in 10 second-half minutes, with Facundo Medina scoring an own-goal over the head of De Lange, and Dembélé setting up Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for a clinical volley before Lee Kang-in slotted home the fifth.
Marseille’s 1-0 win over PSG in September will seem like a distant memory.
Fans closely watched
PSG fans were in the spotlight after last season’s match at Parc des Princes was marred by homophobic and racist chanting, with a warning to “stop discriminatory chants” posted on the giant screen.
There were brief discriminatory chants about Marseille at the start of the game and referee Willy Delajod stopped play for about one minute around the 70th, at which point a message was posted on the big screen.
Köhn gets away with blunder
Monaco goalkeeper Philipp Köhn got away with a blunder in a 0-0 draw at Nice in the French Riviera derby.
Köhn stopped the ball going out for a corner but slid and mis-kicked it to attacking midfielder Sofiane Diop on the edge of the penalty area in the 72nd minute. Diop’s curling shot was going in until defender Thilo Kehrer acrobatically heeled the ball away.
Folarin Balogun hit the crossbar for Monaco in the third minute.
Other matches
Veteran striker Ciro Immobile drew a blank on his league debut for Paris FC in a 0-0 draw at Auxerre.
During the 2019-20 season he finished as the “Capocannoniere” (top scorer) in the Italian league with 36 goals for Lazio and has scored 304 goals overall at club level.
Immobile played forward Jonathan Ikoné clean through during the second half, but Ikoné’s shot was saved.
Angers moved up to ninth after beating Toulouse 1-0 thanks to a brilliant lob from defender Lilian Raolisoa from nearly 40 meters out in the 89th.
Le Havre moved up to 13th after winning 2-1 at home to Strasbourg.
Lens beat Rennes 3-1 on Saturday.
