When former professional soccer player Andy Woodward was only 11 years old, a coach at his youth soccer club began to sexually assault him. The abuse continued for years. The coach, Barry Bennell, used his position of power and threats of violence to keep Woodward silent. It was a neverending nightmare, one that only got worse when Bennell began dating, and later married, Woodward’s older sister, making the two brother-in-laws.
In 1995, while Bennell was being investigated for abusing other young boys, Woodward came forward privately and to police. But that wasn’t enough for him. Sensing that there were other victims — possibly hundreds — he waived his anonymity and told his full story to the Guardian last month.
It turns out that Woodward’s suspicions were correct. Since the cover story was published just three weeks ago, over 350 allegations similar to Woodward’s have been made against 55 clubs (some professional, some not), and investigations have been launched by several prominent soccer organizations and 21 police forces in the U.K.
One victim that came forward has referred to it as a “pedophile ring.”
The sheer volume of the reports and allegations is staggering, and it might still only be the tip of the iceberg. Here’s a look at what we know about the allegations so far, how far up the scandal goes, and what happens next.
What are the allegations?
Woodward, now 43, told the Guardian that Bennell sexually abused him repeatedly from the ages of 11 to 15 while he was a player at the Crewe Alexandria club. He says that Bennell, who had a reputation as one of the premiere youth soccer coaches in the country, methodically targeted the “softer, weaker boys.” The pedophile kept Woodward silent for so long by threatening to ruin his career or by threatening physical violence, often showing off his nunchuck skills as a warning.
After hearing Woodward’s story, 44-year-old Chris Unsworth came forward publicly as well, saying he was raped between 50 and 100 times.
“I would never have come forward if I hadn’t seen Andy on television,” Unsworth said.
“I know what he has been through because I have been through exactly the same … All the lads have been through the same.”
https://twitter.com/AndyWoodward2/status/804835776253100032?lang=en
Four other players have publicly come forward as victims of Bennell, including Steve Walters at Crewe; David White and Jason Dunford while playing for Whitehill, a junior club in Manchester run by Bennell; and Ian Ackley, who says that Bennell raped him “hundreds of times” during his time on a youth soccer team in Derbyshire.
But this goes far beyond just Bennell. Woodward inspired many who were abused by other coaches to come forward as well, including Newcastle United’s Derek Bell and David Eatock.
According to the Guardian, in the 1970s, Bell was sexually abused hundreds of times between the ages of 12 and 16 by his youth coach, George Ormond, who was convicted for sexually abusing boys in 2002. Ormond later went on to coach at Newcastle United, where he abused David Eatock.
“I know what he has been through because I have been through exactly the same … All the lads have been through the same.”
Paul Stewart, a former top-tier player in England, came forward to talk about the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Frank Roper, a prominent youth soccer coach who died 11 years ago. Stewart said that Roper threatened to kill his parents and brothers if he told anyone.
Two former players in the Southampton youth system, Dean Radford and Jamie Webb, told the BBC that they were “groomed and abused” by a former club employee. Gary Johnson, a former Chelsea player, has alleged that Eddie Heath, the club’s former scout, sexually abused him. In the past few days, there have been allegations made against coaches in Scotland and Ireland as well.
Last week, Bennell was charged with eight offences of sexual assault against a boy under the age of 14, likely all occurring between 1981 and 1985. Bennell has already been jailed three times for the rape and abuse of boys.
Was there a cover up?
All of these allegations have many wondering whether this is another Penn State situation — was it an open secret within many of these clubs that boys were being sexually abused? Did the people in charge actively work to cover this up?
The answer, it unfortunately seems, is yes.
Woodward told the Guardian that during his time at Crewe, many openly alluded to Bennell’s abuse in the locker room.
“That’s how football worked back then: ‘We can talk about it within these walls, but we keep it watertight and it doesn’t go any further.’”
“Other players would say directly to my face: ‘I bet he does this to you, we know he does that.’ There was all that dressing-room bravado,” Woodward said. “Then, outside the club, it was never discussed. That’s how football worked back then: ‘We can talk about it within these walls, but we keep it watertight and it doesn’t go any further.’ Nobody wanted to break that circle of trust.
“That club has been never been held accountable. My belief, after all these years, is that it must have been well known within the club that he had young boys staying over.”
Woodward is far from alone in that sentiment.
“I believe there was a conspiracy, there was a pedophile ring, and there was people at those football clubs who had a duty to look after the welfare of young boys coming through their system,” Dunford, who was allegedly abused by both Bannell and Roper, said.
“This is their potential future stars, and their future stars are being sexually assaulted and sexually abused by a member of their staff.”
Andy Woodward is a modern day hero what he has started will reform the way our children are protected from evil sexual predators
— Jason Dunford (@jpdoafc) November 25, 2016
Johnson, a former Chelsea star, took things even farther last week, telling the Daily Mirror that he was paid £50,000 by the prestigious club just last year to keep quiet about his allegations that Heath had sexually abused him in the 1970s.
“I think that they were paying me to keep a lid on this,” he told the Mirror. “Millions of fans around the world watch Chelsea. They are one of the biggest and richest clubs in the world. All their fans deserve to know the truth about what went on. I know they asked me to sign a gagging order and how many others are there out there?”
What happens next?
In the weeks and months to come, most officials involved expect the list of allegations to grow.
Individual clubs like Newcastle, Manchester City, and Crewe, have all opened inquiries to investigate their handling of the allegations. On Wednesday, the three Chelsea bosses who provided Johnson with the hush money last year met with the striker to apologize.
“I know they asked me to sign a gagging order and how many others are there out there?”
“They admitted they had made mistakes about the confidentiality clause and said they would not do that again,” Johnson said. The club has hired an independent lawfirm to investigate the abuse by their former scout, as more victims have come forward with allegations against Heath.
The Football Association has also launched an independent inquiry. Greg Clark, the FA chairman, called the allegations of hush money payments “morally repugnant,” adding that any club found guilty of the practice will be punished. But Clark wanted to assure everyone that the sport is much safer today.
“We can never be complacent, but thankfully huge progress has been made in the last 10 years when it comes to safeguarding,” he said. “All clubs now have dedicated people tasked with keeping kids safe, but there’s always more to be done.”
Woodward, meanwhile, has been overwhelmed by the response the past few weeks. He joined with fellow survivors Walters and Unsworth to form The Offside Trust, an independent trust that aims to support victims of child sex abuse in all sports, not just soccer, and come forward and begin the path towards healing.