Football abuse shame

We are often critical of our footballers. Over-paid, prima donnas, stupid money grabbers, out of touch with reality, drunks, womaniser’s etc. etc.

We worship them from the terraces and sing their names when they play well for our favourite team or for our country but woe be tide them if they step out line. If they dare to leave our favourite team for a fatter pay cheque, we give little thought to their short lived career and the fact that they will probably be retired by their mid-thirties at best, but instead we call them mercenaries and worse. We pin our hopes on them before big tournaments, filling the back pages of our newspapers with their picture then slap them on the front page for going for a drink or a kebab after the game.

Whether this is just a British phenomenon where we like to build our celebrities up so we can knock them down or if it’s simple jealousy I’m not sure. Most of us boys grew up wanting to be footballers. I remember playing for hours every day, wishing I was as good as some of my peers never mind my heroes. I have often wondered how some of my peers didn’t make it to the big time when they were so talented. The truth is of course that it is incredibly difficult to be a professional footballer. Talent is not enough. It takes sacrifice that most of us are unwilling or unable to make. Strict diets, exercise, missing nights out with our friends, girls, boys are all just part of the reason most of those that might just have been good enough didn’t make. Of course, there is also an element of luck. As a teenager playing for a Sunday league team I wrote to Manchester United, suggesting that they might want to come along and watch me as I might just be the next Bryan Robson. They politely replied saying that if my team were to get to an area final they might send a coach along. As my team was losing every game by half a dozen goals every week, that was rather unlikely. Does that experience make me a little bit jealous of those who were lucky enough to get spotted and whipped from obscurity to fame and fortune? Probably!

There have been many hard luck stories published with sad regularity about former players turning to gambling, drugs, alcohol and tragedy once their illustrious careers finish but we seldom feel any real pity for them because they had it so good while they were playing. My heart bleeds for you-must have been awful having all that money to blow on booze and drugs..

 

This week though we learned about the dark side of the game that until now has never really been revealed. 18 police forces are investigating historic abuse of children and young men by football coaches at over 50 professional and amateur clubs.

Gary Johnson revealed that Chelsea football club paid him £50,000 to keep quiet about abuse at the hands of his former coach, Eddie Heath. Heath is now dead and unable to face charges but many other coaches it seems were doing similar things to vulnerable young boys while it seems some clubs turned a blind eye or simply failed to notice. The NSPCC who have set up a dedicated hot line, have received more than 860 calls as a series of ex-players have come forward.

The really shocking and scary part is that it could have been any of us. As I said, like many of my friends I played schoolboy football and innocently invited clubs to come and watch me. It never crossed my mind for a second that it might be a predator that came along to take advantage of me. I was lucky, Ashleigh United getting trounced 10-0 kept me safe but there were thousands of other boys up and down the country at any given weekend who were there for the taking. Someone said when the news first broke that this was footballs Saville moment. There can now be no doubt that this goes beyond football. Cricket, athletics, dance classes, basketball, in fact almost all sports have been guilty of failing to protect its participants.  It’s not good enough to say it was a different time with different attitudes. I’m certain that unless strict controls are put in place the abuse of children will continue. The FA and our football teams have a responsibility and the financial clout to take action and fast. It has taken great courage for some well-known ex-players to come forward and speak up after keeping their secret for decades. Finally, our heroes deserve our sympathy and we must encourage anyone who has or is still suffering abuse to speak so that action can be taken. These sick, manipulative, bullying, men must be stopped and punished. Sexual abuse does not make a kid a better player and it can never be excused.