CPS receives file on allegations of rape by Premier League footballers

After first going to the police in August 2021, Kira emailed the FA, Premier League and club about her allegations the following month in “desperation” as she was concerned he was still playing on a platform. so big while it was being investigated. .

The club told him it could not discuss his allegations for legal reasons. The Premier League directed it to the FA.

More than four months after contacting the FA about his allegations, he was told in emails that he could take “no further action” as the alleged behavior did not breach their regulations.

He stated that there was “no evidence” to suggest that Player X “poses a risk of harm to children or adults at risk.” He sent her a PDF document titled ‘Child Safeguarding in Football Policy’, which did not apply to her.

“They hid behind their lack of policies knowing that the regulations they had put in place were meant to protect profits, not victims,” ​​Kira says.

In July 2024, Kira approached the club, the Premier League and the FA again, sending them evidence that she was a “vulnerable adult”.

In an email, seen by the BBC, the club told him they had passed his correspondence to the Premier League and the FA. The Premier League told him it could not discuss the allegations which are currently under police investigation. And the FA told him it could not share any details or updates on whether any FA intervention had been taken.

“In addition, we refer to our email… where we explain that we are not the individual’s employer,” he added.

Speaking about the response, Kira told the BBC that her correspondence has “reinforced a devastating message that I don’t matter, more women coming forward doesn’t matter, and that even when you meet shielding requirements it will never matter.”

Another woman, Mia, said she believes that if the FA and the club had acted when they were first alerted to a rape allegation in 2021, she would not have later gone to Player X’s home, where she alleges he sexually assaulted her. .

“If they had decided to take the first allegation seriously… if they had suspended him, I would never have been in the situation I was in that day,” he told the BBC.

“His decision made me suffer,” he said.

While the FA has detailed policies for players accused of in-game betting, nothing similar exists for players accused of sexual or domestic violence that occurs beyond the football environment.

Some lawyers in the UK have noted the many legal difficulties football clubs face when considering how to deal with a player facing allegations of sexual or domestic violence, with no general rules in place.