Following a year-old BBC investigation, the Football Association (FA) has initiated a safeguarding inquiry into a Premier League club official.
The investigation discovered that, despite three women denouncing the official to the police for alleged sexual offences, he continued to work at the club.
One of the women, who was under 16 at the time of the alleged event, told the BBC that the FA failed to protect women and girls by refusing to take action.
According to The Athletic, the FA has launched its own investigation after police opted not to take further action. A spokeswoman for the FA indicated that, while they do not comment on particular situations, “robust safeguarding measures are in place.”
In an October email obtained by the BBC, the FA invited one of the complainants, known as Kate, to discuss her experiences as part of the safeguarding probe. The FA informed her that once the investigation was done, it would not divulge any details or outcomes.
Kate first contacted the FA in July 2023, claiming a past rape by an official when she was 15. However, she believes the FA answered only lately.
“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 response to the news of an FA inquiry.
While Kate is pleased that the investigation has begun, she is concerned about the lack of transparency regarding any action done. “We need assurances that all females at the club are safe,” she says.
The boss was also probed in 2021 on allegations that he sexually molested another 15-year-old in the 1990s. No further action was taken in the case due to legislation requiring that if an offence of “unlawful sexual intercourse” occurred between 1956 and 2004, and the alleged victim was a girl aged 13 to 15, she file a report within one year.
The BBC interviewed a third woman, who said that in the late 1990s, a club official confined her in a room and tried to pressure her into sexual activity during a job interview while she was in her early 20s.
Police have already closed all three investigations against the official.
According to a BBC investigation from November of last year, since 2020, seven out of twenty Premier League clubs have had players or staff investigated for sexual misconduct.
FA regulations presently only cover responses to such charges that occur in a “football environment” or involve children or vulnerable individuals.
According to its policies, the FA can impose an interim suspension order, which prohibits an individual from engaging in some or all football activities while the inquiry is continuing.
Such an order can be issued if the FA receives information that leads it to “reasonably believe that a person poses or may pose a risk of harm”.
The new investigation will be conducted by the FA’s professional game safeguarding manager.
A spokesperson for the nation’s governing body stated: “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.”