A long-awaited independent review into sexual abuse in Scottish football has called on clubs and organisations involved to “make a clear, unreserved, and public acknowledgment and apology” to all those directly affected.
The review, commissioned by the Scottish Football Association in 2016, has been released after a delay of almost three years, an interim report having been produced in 2018. Led by Martin Henry, it focused largely on abuse of children within football in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.
After engagement with 240 individuals, a further 71 personally affected by sexual abuse in the Scottish game, including family members and friends, were identified and spoke as part of the review. Some 33 individuals provided personal accounts including allegations of sexual abuse in Scottish football.
Individuals highlighted – but not named – as having abused children worked throughout their football careers at clubs including Celtic Boys Club, Celtic, Falkirk, Forres Mechanics, Hamilton, Hibernian, Hutchison Vale, Motherwell, Rangers and Partick Thistle. A Scottish Football Association referee is also identified. Many of the alleged abusers are now dead.
The publication states: “The review welcomes the statement from the Scottish FA in which it ‘apologise(d) to the survivors and anyone who has been the victim of abuse in Scottish football’ and also the recognises and welcomes the recent public statement by Celtic FC in which it ‘reiterates its sincere sympathy, regret and sorrow for those affected’.
“The review is aware of the complexities for clubs in arriving at this position but remains firm in the view that it is the interests of survivors and the compelling ethical considerations which are most important.
“The independent review again calls on all clubs and organisations involved to make a clear, unreserved, and public acknowledgment and apology to all those directly affected by the abuse which took place and for the harm which was done. It does not require for these matters to have been tested in a criminal court for acknowledgement and apology to take place.
“All it needs is for individuals to adopt a compassionate response and decide, on the basis of simple human solidarity, to acknowledge the harm that has occurred and apologise for the events which took place under the organisation or club’s watch. Acknowledgement and apology do not eradicate the harmful events or the pain that has resulted. But for many this will be a starting point for reconciliation and for healing and this is of vital importance.
“The independent review considers it inadequate for clubs or organisations to avoid this issue because, in the intervening years, they have changed their governance, their name or their company status or ownership. The ethical obligations remain and are uninterrupted irrespective of intervening administrative, constitutional or commercial changes.”
Within a stark, 192-page document, the review’s author states he “has been struck by how easy it was for these adults (with a sexual interest in children and young people) to navigate Scottish football in such a way as to make their activities accomplishable and to maximise secrecy and concealment”.
The review says that “most of those who provided personal accounts which included allegations of sexual abuse in Scottish football did not confide in or report it to anyone else at the time”. However, it states: “The review has not been able to access any written records from clubs which might confirm (or otherwise) information provided from other sources. This is, as we have been told by the clubs concerned, because records have either been destroyed or cannot be traced.”
The review details the kinds of sexual abuses, including rape, inflicted on children aged between six and 16.