Sports Clubs

Following the scandal of abuse in Football Clubs that was made public in 2016, a huge number of people have come forward to report what happened to them whilst Youth Team players for clubs such as Chelsea, Crewe Alexandra and Southampton to name but a few. 

For the young people who suffered this abuse, it was their dream to make it as a footballer but the abuse they suffered shattered those dreams and has had a lifelong impact upon their lives.

Many of the people implicated in the scandal such as Barry Bennell, Eddie Heath and Bob Higgins have been found to have abused young prospective footballers on a horrific scale. 

Following the abuse in football, the scandal has widened to other areas of sport, such as British Gymnastics, which was rocked by revelations that young Gymnasts were being abused.  This prompted an independent review by Anne Whyte KC whose report was published in 2022. Whyte received submissions from 400 people, with 39 cases deemed so serious they were passed to local authorities for safeguarding reasons.  The Whyte review also said that British Gymnastics received on average 300 complaints pf abuse a year between 2015 and 2020.

How do I claim?

Where the abuse has been perpetrated by an employee or official of the Club then it may be possible to establish the club are “vicariously liable” for the acts of that person.  This is even so if that person was not “on the payroll” of the club in question but acting in close connection, or in a capacity “akin to employment”.       

How can we help you?

Our team has extensive experience in acting for survivors of abuse in sport and has acted for a number of former Youth Team players with Premier League clubs.  Our team have had particular success with Chelsea FC, having secured compensation and treatment packages as well as face to face meetings with the former Chairman Bruce Buck.  

If you would like further information on this, please do not hesitate to contact us and we can speak to you in complete confidence and with no obligation as to your legal rights if you wanted to pursue legal redress.