A BBC investigative report claims two Premier League footballers and a team boss have continued in their roles despite police investigations for sexual or domestic violence.
Alleged victims in the incidents have claimed to the broadcaster the Football Association (FA) and Premier League were prioritising commercial interests over the safety of women.
Seven of the 20 Premier League clubs have had players or bosses investigated for sexual offences since 2020, according to the report.
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Unlike in many other sporting leagues players involved in criminal allegations are not suspended from playing while the investigations occur.
The allegations, which include a historic report of child sexual abuse, were given to the FA and Premier League but responses were either delayed or non-existent.
“I didn’t want to exist in a world where I’m constantly reminded that rape allegations can be ignored as long as you’re talented enough,” one woman who attempted to take her own life after the lack of action told the BBC.
Another woman says she would not have gone to a house where she alleges she was sexually assaulted by a player if she had known the player allegedly raped a different woman in 2021 – a report which was not acted upon when they were first alerted.
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Five woman accused one footballer, who the report called Player X, of rape, sexual assault or controlling behaviour since April 2021.
Player X was arrested at his home in July 2022 on an allegation of rape and then shortly arrested afterwards for an earlier allegation of rape. He has denied all allegations.
“Him playing was the absolute thing that made me think they were fake and not true,” another woman, who says she experienced controlling behaviour by the player, said.
“It sent the message of we don’t believe them and we support him.”
“What happened to me could have been prevented.”
Another woman, given the pseudonym Kate, alleged at 15 she was raped by a man who is now a boss at a Premier League club.
She reported it to the police in the early 1990s but only wanted to proceed if other women came forward, and then made a historic report in 2021.
“He’s a very powerful man who threatened me into silence,” she told the BBC.
The man was questioned in June this year and released under police investigation.
The same man was investigated in 2021 on an allegation of sexually abusing a different 15-year-old in the 1990s, but no action was taken due to rules around when the allegation had to be reported by.
‘Kate’ said the Premier League took over two months to acknowledge her report to their special safeguarding email address, and said the email had gotten lost in their inbox.
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