The independent review into football’s sexual abuse scandal in Britain is to be delayed by potentially longer than a year because of the criminal trials that are approaching and the possibility of former football coach Barry Bennell facing more charges for preying on young boys from the junior systems of Crewe Alexandra and Manchester City

Clive Sheldon, the QC appointed in December 2016 to oversee the inquiry, had originally intended to publish his report in the coming week, having spent the previous 21 months investigating what the Football Association chairman, Greg Clarke, has described as the biggest scandal in the history of the sport

One of the reasons for the delay is the news that the Crown Prosecution Service is to be asked to consider whether to impose more charges against the man who was described in court as an “industrial-scale child molester” and is serving a 30-year prison sentence.

As of January, 86 [] other complainants were trying to press charges against Bennell, with at least 97 people – though possibly more now – reporting Bennell.

Bennell, now 64, was convicted in February of 50 offences of raping and molesting 12 boys, aged eight to 14, from 1979 to 1990, with the judge, Clement Goldstone, branding him “sheer evil” and the “devil incarnate”.

The delay has also been taken, in part, because of the retrial for Bob Higgins , which is due to start next March. Higgins, 65, who ran the schoolboy coaching programmes for Southampton Football Club and Peterborough United, faces 48 charges of indecent assault.

Sheldon (...) wants to wait until after a possible second trial for Bennell. [T]hat could be towards the end of the next year.

“It is of paramount importance that my work does not in any way compromise any ongoing investigations,” Sheldon writes. “The effect of this has meant that I have not spoken to certain individuals who are involved in ongoing criminal trials or investigations."

"I had previously expected to be able to finalise my review this autumn, following the completion of three major criminal trials this year. However, the retrial of Bob Higgins and the fact that there has not been a charging decision in relation to a large number of further allegations against Barry Bennell has meant that I have needed to review this position."

“I want my review to be as comprehensive as possible. For that reason, I have decided not to complete it until I have had the opportunity to speak to more individuals associated with the retrial of Bob Higgins and the further allegations being made against Barry Bennell.”

United Kingdom Football Abuse Scandal

A sexual abuse scandal involving the abuse of young players at football clubs in the United Kingdom began in mid-November 2016. The revelations began when former professional footballers waived their rights to anonymity and talked publicly about being abused by former coaches and scouts in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s .

This led to a surge of further allegations, as well as allegations that some clubs had covered them up.

Echoing similar revelations in the 1990s, the initial 2016 allegations centred on abuse of young players at Crewe Alexandra and Manchester City due to the clubs' associations with Barry Bennell (previously convicted of sexual abuse offences in the UK and US) who, on 29 November 2016, was charged with new offences.

Allegations were also made against George Ormond , a former youth coach and scout for Newcastle United (who also had previous convictions), former Chelsea scout Eddie Heath , and former Southampton and Peterborough coach Bob Higgins . In early December 2016, allegations about former youth coaches and scouts in Northern Ireland and Scotland also started to emerge.

Within a month of the initial reporting, the Football Association, the Scottish Football Association, several football clubs and over 20 UK police forces had established various inquiries and investigations and over 350 alleged victims had come forward.

By July 2018, 300 suspects were reported to have been identified by 849 alleged victims, with 2,807 incidents involving 340 different clubs.

These have led to 13 individuals being charged with historical sexual abuse, of which seven have been tried: six - Bennell, Ormond, William Toner, Michael Coleman, Jim McCafferty and Robert Smith - have been convicted and jailed; Higgins has been found guilty of one charge and faces a retrial on 48 further charges. James Torbett is on trial, while four more are awaiting trial, and one has since died. Other allegations involve individuals who had died prior to the revelations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_football_sexual_abuse_scandal