SFA backs NSPCC helpline on child abuse in football

[ian1964 10,720]

The Scottish FA is supporting a campaign to encourage anyone with knowledge of child abuse in football to speak out.

 

It has backed a dedicated NSPCC helpline set up for victims of sexual abuse in the game.

 

The move comes after a number of former players in England revealed they were abused by coaches as youngsters.

 

The charity told BBC Scotland it had received calls from across the UK since it was launched on Thursday.

 

Former Manchester City and England player David White is among several who claim they were abused by former Crewe Alexandra coach Barry Bennell.

 

The 62-year-old was jailed in 1998 for sex offences against children and was imprisoned again last year.

 

In the same year, James Torbett, a former football manager of Celtic boys club, was convicted of abusing three young players, including Alan Brazil.

 

Donna Martin, the Scottish FA's child wellbeing and protection manager, said: "The safety and wellbeing of children is of paramount importance to the Scottish FA, and significant steps have been taken to ensure that their protection is integral to Scottish football's decision-making processes.

 

"The Scottish FA takes its role as the governing body of the national game seriously.

 

"We would urge anyone with any information relating to abuse or inappropriate behaviour - whether current or historic - to get in touch via the NSPCC's helpline, or childrenswellbeing@scottishfa.co.uk."

 

Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tam Baillie, told BBC Radio Scotland the latest allegations may be the tip of the iceberg.

 

"I fear we are on the brink on many more revelations," he said.

'Macho culture'

 

Speaking on the Good Morning Scotland programme, he said: "I think we should commend people who've been brave enough to speak out and certainly the early signs are very worrying."

 

The commissioner praised the SFA for the speed of its response to the allegations.

 

He said: "The cultural shift that's required is that people feel confident that when they come forward they will be believed, whereas previously we know from painful experience that's not been the case.

 

"I think there's been an encouraging shift towards belief rather than trying to deal with it by sweeping it under the carpet and not acknowledging it."

 

He added: "If any good can come of this, it would shift that macho culture to be much more willing to look at how we better protect children in all sports to ensure we don't have a repetition."

 

On the same programme, John Cameron of the NSPCC, said the new helpline had received calls from people with information about historic abuse from across the UK.

 

It has also been alerted to concerns about possible abuse to children currently involved in the game.

 

He said the response was very similar to that which followed the exposure of Jimmy Savile's crimes.

 

Both instances were an "abuse of authority and power", he said.

'Robust recruitment'

 

"There were people in authority, in the past, where allegations have been made against them, where people found it extremely difficult to speak out," he added.

 

"And if you look at the victims who came to our helplines during the Savile, Operation Yewtree investigation, we're hearing very similar tales of the difficulty, not being taken seriously if you did speak out, fearful of the implications if you did so."

 

Mr Cameron said some of the information the NSPCC had received had been passed on to the police.

 

"There are a number of people who have given us potential identifying information of alleged offenders and we are liaising directly with the police up and down the UK," he said.

 

He said background checks on potential employees were only as good as the information held on the individual by police and courts.

 

And he called for "robust recruitment processes" which would prevent potential abusers obtaining jobs in football.

[ian1964 10,720]

The FA And The SFA Should Hang Their Heads In Shame

 

http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/article.php?i=128&a=the-fa-and-the-sfa-should-hang-their-heads-in-shame

[ian1964 10,720]

Investigate the Scottish Football Association for it's failure to investigate child abuse

 

https://www.change.org/p/theresa-may-mp-investigate-the-scottish-football-association-for-it-s-failure-to-investigate-child-abuse

 

Edited November 25, 2016 by ian1964

[ian1964 10,720]

FOOTIE STAR'S TORMENT I wanted to kill the sick b******! Scotland legend Alan Brazil opens up about his abuse hell at the hands of evil James Torbett

 

The talkSPORT presenter tells how he was scarred for decades

BY JAMES MILLS

26th November 2016, 12:18 am

 

AS four police forces launch inquiries into the football abuse scandal and two more players claim they were victims, ex-Scotland striker and talkSPORT presenter Alan Brazil reveals his own ordeal.

 

The Ipswich legend was targeted as a 13-year-old prodigy at Celtic Boys Club. Here he tells how a paedo boss destroyed his dreams and changed his life forever.

 

I WAS enjoying a day at York races when I spotted him. His big white pasty face was burnt on my soul.

 

I have only hated one person in my life, and it is him. My blood started to boil.

 

He was walking in my direction but it was in a throng of racegoers.

 

One minute he seemed within punching distance and the next I’d lost him. My quarry had spotted me and he was away.

 

But he was a bloated, overweight creature and I was a former professional footballer. I would get him.

 

I pushed through the throng with an urgency that should have come from a man who was fleeing, not one in pursuit.

 

But there were too many people and after a few minutes I realised he had gone.

 

I was panting with the physical effort and the emotional turmoil into which I had just been thrust.

 

What was he doing here? Surely he wasn’t mad enough to be stalking me? He knew that I had vowed to kill him if I ever saw him again.

 

And I swear I still would to this day.

 

The loathsome individual who had triggered my explosive behaviour was a man called James Torbett.

 

I had to cast my mind back 30 years to the incident that blighted my life. When I was 13, Torbett sexually assaulted me.

 

It scarred me for decades and may have prevented me playing for the team I’d loved all my life, Celtic.

 

As a kid growing up in Glasgow, my parents had trusted this man to guide me as I took my first steps in football.

 

He was the boss of Celtic Boys Club. A millionaire businessman. A pillar of the Establishment.

 

In fact he was a dirty little pervert who preyed on me and other boys whose confidence he’d gained.

 

And that is probably why Torbett got away with his despicable acts for so long.

 

Many years later I nailed him in a courtroom (Torbett was jailed for two years in 1998 for abusing Brazil and two other boys between 1968 and 1974).

 

But, though that was some retribution, I knew I would never be able to expunge my hatred for him.

 

While he is alive, the shadow that has blighted my life will still be there.

 

My proudest day was when I passed the club trials. But from the moment I met Torbett I knew there was something funny about him.

 

He didn’t look like he had a footballing past, and I often wondered why he was involved.

 

He tried to be this fatherly figure. But I didn’t like the fact that he was always taking a gang of us off for hamburgers after training or after a game.

 

And he would always give lifts to the lads, even though he lived miles away.

 

He would often invite a group of us to his home, too. That was the thing I really didn’t like.

 

He would give us ice cream and biscuits; he even had boxes of toys which I thought were meant for kids much younger than us.

 

Torbett lived in a dingy, untidy council flat.

 

Once we were all at his place because there was a big youth tournament coming up and he said he wanted to talk tactics.

 

Instead he would be putting his hands all over the lads, kissing them, giving them little pecks.

 

Not for the first time I wondered what was going on.

 

What went through my mind was that the lads he was paying all the attention to must be related to him. Why else would he be doing that?

 

He found me on the sofa on my own in the lounge.

 

I was bored and wanted to go home.

 

He sat much closer than was comfortable, and without warning he put his hand between my legs. I froze.

 

He started kissing my head and trying to touch the outside of my trousers, but I was wriggling away from him.

 

I remember his horrible swollen face next to mine. He was smiling.

 

He thought this was fun. I was frightened and very confused.

 

The only relationship I had ever had with a man up to that point was the father-and-son relationship with my dad.

 

Now I felt threatened. I leapt off the couch and headed for the bathroom because I knew it had a lock on the inside.

 

I slammed the door shut. I was trying to figure out how far the window was from the ground, because if he tried to get in I was planning to jump.

 

My heart was thumping like mad. I started to think carefully to make sure that I had not imagined what had happened.

 

I grabbed my coat and bag, ran out of the flat and down the stairs in case he was following. I didn’t ease up until I got to the bus stop.

 

I didn’t know what I was going to say to my parents. I couldn’t tell them. It wasn’t the sort of thing you spoke to your mum and dad about over dinner.

 

Over the next few weeks I learnt from coaches I had lost my place in the squad for the youth tournament. It’s obvious why.

 

From then on I did not go to the club as often as I used to.

 

When I did, I stayed right out of Torbett’s way.

 

When I think back now, I’m astonished at how child molesters like Torbett can so brazenly pursue their evil ways.

 

Amazingly, he would ring my house and try to get me to come to extra training sessions.

 

He even put to me repeated invitations to go out for hamburgers again and ice cream.

 

But ice cream was one thing I would never eat again: when he assaulted me it was immediately after he had dished out bowls of ice cream with raspberry topping.

 

Whenever I see that now it makes me want to throw up.

 

I always said I had too much homework. My parents started to realise that something was wrong, but I assume they thought it was a football-related matter.

 

Presumably, Torbett knew I would never tell anybody. I realise now, of course, that that is the classic behaviour of a paedophile.

 

First they wheedle their way into a position of authority in places where there are plenty of children.

 

Second, they win the trust of the youngsters, then the parents. Then they bank on the fact that children are almost always too frightened and confused to tell.

 

Torbett was then a successful businessman and friend of the board. He must have known that if a little boy alleged he had been touched up, nobody would want to believe it.

 

I will forever wonder whether that was why I was more or less thrown out of Celtic. I scored 62 goals in my final season, a club record I held for many years.

 

But my dream of being taken on as an apprentice never came true. I have never regretted going to Ipswich.

 

But I wish I could go back in time, eradicate Torbett, and see where I would have gone without his odious interference in my life.

 

In the 1981/82 season I returned to Celtic for a testimonial match. A director singled me out after and said, ‘How did we ever miss you?’

 

For the first time I was tempted to say something, but I bit my lip and shrugged my shoulders. ‘I’ll always be a Celtic man in my heart,’ I told him, which was in7 every word the truth.

 

SCOTS football chiefs urged players abused as youngsters to speak out.

 

The SFA has joined a campaign launched down south while players’ union PFA Scotland said it would be “naive” to think abuse of children wasn’t an issue north of the border.

 

The English FA have written to 30,000 clubs over allegations over the past week that four former players were sexually assaulted by coaches.

 

A helpline set up by kids’ charity NSPCC on Thursday received more than 50 calls in a matter of hours.

 

PFA boss Fraser Wishart said: “The players who have come forward in England already have shown great courage and bravery.

 

“It would be naive to think these allegations are unique to one part of the UK.

 

“We are working with the Scottish FA to help create a safe environment for any player or former players, regardless of their level of participation, to come forward.

 

“The game has a duty of care to players and we have been in dialogue with the governing body to ensure an integrated approach.”

 

The SFA urged anyone affected to contact the NSPCC’s confidential, 24-hour counselling service.

 

SFA child protection manager Donna Martin added: “We ask anyone with information relating to abuse or inappropriate behaviour, whether current or historic, to get in touch.”

 

Boys are more than five times less likely to speak up over sexual abuse than girls, said Matt Forde, NSPCC’s head of services in Scotland.

 

He added: “It can be especially difficult for men and boys to come forward. We welcome the commitment of the SFA and PFA to help people get the support they need.”

Holyrood in fail warning

 

FOOTBALL’S child sex scandal proves Holyrood’s own abuse probe should be widened, victims claimed.

 

Alan Draper, of survivors’ group INCAS, said failure to extend the inquiry — to include settings like churches and sports clubs — would be a blow to its “moral duty”.

 

At present, it is restricted to children in care settings such as residential units.

 

But a Government spokesman said: “It is one of the widest ranging public inquiries Scotland has ever seen.”

 

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/223886/i-wanted-to-kill-the-sick-b-ex-scotland-star-alan-brazil-opens-up-about-his-abuse-hell-at-the-hands-of-evil-james-torbett/

[pete 2,499]

Seemingly breaking news on SSN that Police Scotland have received complaints of historic child abuse. No mention of any clubs.

[pete 2,499]

Seemingly breaking news on SSN that Police Scotland have received complaints of historic child abuse. No mention of any clubs.

 

SEX ABUSE BOMBSHELL Three Scottish football clubs in paedo shock as charity boss warns child abuse is ‘rife’

 

Andi Lavery claims he's counselling five victims - and that the grooming of youngsters has been rife in the sport for decades

Exclusive

BY DOUGLAS WALKER

29th November 2016, 11:22 pm

 

KIDS were abused at three Scots football clubs, according to the founder of a victims’ charity.

 

Andi Lavery called in the SFA after uncovering the historic allegations against the teams.

Charity chief Andi claims he has helped those targeted by football paedos

 

 

And he claims he’s counselling five victims – and that the grooming of youngsters has been rife in the sport for decades.

 

He told how he has helped those he alleges were targeted by youth coaches from three senior teams — who we’re deciding not to name.

 

His revelations come as cops announced an abuse investigation over claims linked to the national game.

 

Mr Lavery, head of White Flowers Alba, said: “I have cases of abuse at three senior Scottish clubs since the 1960s.

 

“Victims were groomed by being taken to watch football then abused afterwards.

Lavery claims child abuse has been rife in football in Scotland for decades

 

Lavery claims child abuse has been rife in football in Scotland for decades

 

“I could put five of them in a courtroom but, at the moment, none of them want to do it.

 

“It was never just one guy who acted alone.”

 

Mr Lavery went on: “Most but not all of these people will now be dead. It only takes one or two to abuse hundreds. We can still get justice for victims but we need as many of them to come forward as possible.”

 

He insists the scandal isn’t limited to the single cases calling it the “elephant in the room”.

 

Mr Lavery, a victim, went on: “Paedophilia in the game is the big thing nobody talks about.

 

“Sadly football just shows that it’s endemic in life. It still goes on and will be as big a problem in Scotland than it’s ever been.”

 

His claims followed an SFA appeal for those affected in the game to speak up in wake of revelations in England.

 

Mr Lavery revealed he wrote to the governing body advising them of “areas to look at”.

 

Last night Hampden beaks revealed they are working with cops and kids care charities.

 

A spokesperson said: “We are in ongoing dialogue with Police Scotland and the NSPCC to ensure a co-ordinated response.

 

“We reiterate our wish that anybody with information relating to alleged child abuse in Scottish football comes forward using the confidential hotline or contact police.”

 

Cops confirmed they are investigating claims from other potential victims.

 

Police said: “We’ve rec-eived reports in connetion with non-recent child abuse within football.”

 

The bombshell also sparked a Holyrood storm.

 

Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton said the Nats have been urged to launch a wider inquiry covering areas like sport because it’s not included in the current historical abuse inquiry.

The Government already faced criticism that the probe — looking into treatment of youngsters in residential care, long-term hospital stays, boarding schools and foster care — is too narrow.

 

Ms Hamilton said: “The current inquiry risks not going far enough in helping victims.

 

“I am disappointed the Scottish Government is not going forward with an investigation into the abuse in sports clubs.”

 

Meanwhile the SNP’s Christine Grahame said: “Anyone who believes they were abused as a child involved in football or has a concern about someone they think was abused should contact police.”

 

The plea was echoed by the chief exec of Children 1st.

SNP's Christine Grahame urged victims to come forward and report incidents

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

4

SNP’s Christine Grahame urged victims to come forward and report incidents

 

Alison Todd said: “Abuse pervades all parts of society. The fact that reports of child abuse in sport are now surfacing in Scotland is no surprise.”

 

We told yesterday how ex-footie starlet Dougie Gilligan, of Hamilton, claims he was targeted aged 13 by paedo coach Barry Bennell at Butlins training camps in the 1970s.

 

Last week ex-Scotland striker Alan Brazil, 57, spoke again about how he was targeted as a 13-year-old at Celtic Boys’ Club by youth boss Jim Torbett — caged for 2½ years in 1998.

Edited November 30, 2016 by pete

[compo 6,965]

There was a wee bit on the wireless about any clubs found to have been part of a cover up might find them losing cups etc , its just going to take one lad to come out and make an accusation against any club then the shit will hit the fan .

Me I think the SFA should keep clear leave it to the police to conduct an investigation first .

Edited November 30, 2016 by compo

[Norris Cole 0]

Just read that article by Alan Brazil. Pretty grim stuff, and that's mild given other forms of child abuse. Fair play to him for coming out.