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The Football Association has opened a safeguarding enquiry into a Premier League nine boss, a twelvemonth connected from a BBC investigation.
The probe recovered that contempt 3 women reporting the antheral to the constabulary for alleged intersexual offences, helium remained successful presumption astatine the club.
One of the women told the BBC the FA had failed to support women and girls by taking nary action, contempt her being nether 16 astatine the clip of the alleged incident.
Sports quality work The Athletic person reported and the BBC understands that pursuing the constabulary determination to instrumentality nary further action, the FA person present opened an enquiry of its own.
A spokesperson for the nationalist governing assemblage said they bash not remark connected idiosyncratic cases but they person “robust safeguarding measures successful place”.
In an email from the extremity of October, seen by the BBC, the FA invited 1 of the complainants, who we are calling Kate, to a gathering to sermon her experiences arsenic portion of their safeguarding investigation. They added that they volition not beryllium capable to stock with her immoderate details of their investigations including immoderate result reached erstwhile complete.
Kate archetypal contacted the FA successful July 2023, wherever she told them she had reported the antheral to the constabulary for a historical rape that she says happened erstwhile she was 15. However, she believes thing was done by the FA until now.
“Football authorities and [the] authorities look to person turned a unsighted eye, deaf receptor and chose to accidental and bash thing to support females from the threats helium poses to girls and women,” she told the BBC successful absorption to the quality of an FA inquiry.
While Kate is gladsome the probe has been opened she says she has superior concerns astir the deficiency of transparency astir immoderate enactment taken. “We request assurances that each females astatine the nine are safe,” she adds.
The brag was besides investigated successful 2021 aft an allegation that helium sexually abused a antithetic 15-year-old successful the 1990s. No further enactment was taken successful that lawsuit due to the fact that of authorities which stated that if an offence of "unlawful intersexual intercourse" took spot betwixt 1956 and 2004, and the alleged unfortunate was a miss aged 13 to 15, she had to marque a ailment wrong a year.
The BBC spoke to a 3rd woman, who says successful the precocious 90s she was locked successful a country by the brag arsenic helium attempted to coerce her into intersexual activity. She says this took spot during a occupation interrogation erstwhile she was successful her aboriginal 20s.
All 3 investigations person present been dropped by the police.
In November of past twelvemonth the BBC recovered that 7 retired of 20 Premier League clubs person had players oregon bosses investigated by the constabulary for intersexual offences since 2020.
FA regulations lone screen however to respond to allegations of this quality if they hap wrong a “football environment”, oregon if concerns subordinate to children oregon susceptible adults.
Their policies let the governing assemblage to enforce an interim suspension bid blocking the idiosyncratic from immoderate oregon each enactment wrong the crippled portion it continues investigating.
Such an bid tin beryllium imposed wherever the FA receives accusation that causes it "reasonably to judge that a idiosyncratic poses oregon whitethorn airs a hazard of harm".
The caller enquiry volition beryllium led by the FA's nonrecreational crippled safeguarding manager.
A spokesperson for the nationalist governing assemblage said: “We analyse and measure each allegations and concerns astir individuals who whitethorn airs a hazard of harm to children and adults astatine hazard successful shot and, wherever applicable, tin enforce proportionate safeguarding measures successful accordance with FA safeguarding regulations.”
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