A
former Chelsea football player has made some really shocking
revelations about how the club paid to make him keep quiet about
allegations of abuse.
Gary Johnson
Gary Johnson, a former player for Chelsea football club, has made really serious allegations of impropriety against the club.
The ex footballer revealed he was paid £50,000 by the Premier
League club not to go public with allegations that he was sexually
abused by the club's former chief scout, Eddie Heath.
Johnson made the allegations in an interview with Daily Mirror.
It was reported earlier this week that Chelsea had made a payment
to an individual in the last three years following allegations regarding
Heath. Johnson has waived his anonymity to say he was the former player
in question.
"I think that they were paying me to keep a lid on this," Johnson
said in the Daily Mirror, which reported that Chelsea had now waived
the confidentiality clause in Johnson's settlement, which was made last
year.
"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?
"They may have paid others for their silence. I hope and pray
no clubs are allowed to cover this up - no one should escape justice.
"We need total transparency now for the good of the game. What
makes me so angry is that I went to them to say I had been abused and
they basically said, 'prove it'."
Chelsea said on Tuesday they had appointed an external law firm to
carry out a formal investigation into a former employee, with the club
refusing to comment on any of the details.
A club statement said: "Chelsea Football Club has retained an
external law firm to carry out an investigation concerning an individual
employed by the club in the 1970s, who is now deceased.
"The club has also contacted the FA to ensure that all possible
assistance is provided as part of their wider investigation. This will
include providing the FA with any relevant information arising out of
the club's investigation."
On Thursday, Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn said
any club guilty of "hushing up" sexual abuse to protect their image
would be punished.
"We have clear rules in the game and if there's any evidence of
a breach of those - and hushing up would be one - when it's our turn to
apply the rules, we absolutely will, regardless of size of club," Glenn said.
Johnson, 57, was a member of Chelsea's first team from 1978 to
1981, but joined the club as an 11-year-old in 1970 and claimed he had
been groomed from the age of 13 by Heath.
"I felt shame, I felt my childhood had been taken away," Johnson said. "I spent my late teens in turmoil, absolute turmoil."
Speaking to the Mirror, Johnson detailed the abuse he suffered, and
said he was aware of other victims of Heath who had not yet come
forward.
Heath, who was the club's chief scout from 1968 to 1979, died before the allegations were made.
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