By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON (AA) - England is the birthplace of football and its multi-billion-pound Premier League is often described as the best in Europe, featuring such stars as Paul Pogba, Eden Hazard, Mesut Ozil and Harry Kane.
However, the sport has been rocked over the past weeks by revelations made by hundreds of people that they had been abused as young boys in the game by coaches and mentors entrusted with their care.
More than 350 people have come forward, saying they were victims in an abuse scandal which has now sparked a police investigation.
It all came to light when former Bury and Sheffield United player Andy Woodward told the Guardian newspaper he had been abused when at Crewe Alexandra as a young boy by a convicted sex offender and ex-football coach Barry Bennell.
Shortly after the revelations were made, Bennell, 62, was found unconscious at a hotel and taken to hospital.
More than 370 people followed Woodward's lead and, since he spoke out about the alleged abuse, more than 55 professional and non-league football clubs’ names have been linked to similar allegations.
Police have launched Operation Hydrant into the abuse allegations.
In a statement, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for child protection, Chief Constable Simon Bailey said: “It is important to note that this is an indicative figure only and that information is still being collated, numbers will therefore continue to change.
“We are working closely with the Football Association to ensure that the response to this significant and growing number of victims, at all levels of football, is coordinated effectively.
“We continue to encourage those who have been the victim of child sexual abuse to report it, regardless of how long ago the abuse may have taken place.”
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has since established a hotline to register similar abuses. The number of the calls reporting alleged abuse of young athletes in the first week was astonishing.
“Within two hours of the helpline opening on Wednesday Nov. 23, it received 50 contacts from members of the public, and in the first week 860 calls were made,” the charity said.
- 'We want justice'
Earlier this week, three former footballers founded an independent trust on Monday to support abuse victims.
Former Crewe Alexandra players Woodward and Steve Walters, and former Manchester City youth player Chris Unsworth launched the Offside Trust in Manchester and asked for donations from English football’s main bodies, including the Premier League.
“We are fighting for justice,” said Woodward, who opened the way for hundreds of former footballers to come forward and talk about their experiences as young players.
“We have all been through it and we want justice,” he added.
As the scale of the historic abuse scandal in the football world is still growing, some clubs were alleged to have paid victims so-called “hush-money” to keep quiet.
Gary Johnson was one of those footballers who fell victim to such abuse in the 1970s as a youth player at Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the country. Following the latest revelation, he told a newspaper that he had signed a confidentiality agreement in return for £50,000 (approximately $65,000).
Chelsea immediately released a statement and said the confidentiality clause had been “inappropriate”.
The statement underlined that Johnson, now 57, had told club officials that Eddie Heath -- the alleged abuser who died in 1980s before the allegations were made -- had been involved in abusive “relationships with other young boys/men from the club although no names were given to us [Chelsea]”.
The club added: “Gary Johnson suffered unacceptably while in our employment in the 1970s for which the club apologizes profusely.”
The game’s governing body, the Football Association, has launched an inquiry and several top players, including current England captain, Wayne Rooney, have urged children and parents to speak out if they have any concerns about abuse.
Alan Shearer, an NSPCC ambassador and a former England international, also said in a separate statement that all clubs now have people who are dedicated to keeping children safe but more could be done.
He said: “Every club -- from the grassroots up -- must continue to look at what they are doing to prevent abuse happening to any kids today and in the future.
“We must make sure that all staff and volunteers are aware of the risks and know what to do if they suspect abuse is happening.”