Ex-Chelsea youth players ‘endured racism from age 12’

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From Louis Lee Ray and Jim Reed
The Victoria Derbyshire programme of BBC
Two former Chelsea youth players have told BBC News a former manager frequently subjected to abuse them.
One stated that on his very first experience – in the age of 12 with Gwyn Williams – the coach made remarks about his characteristics.
Williams had known him racist nameshe asked him if he’d been”robbing older grannies”, also said it had been a”rarity” he went to school.
Williams denies all allegations.
The two players were talking out for the first time because a report was published by Chelsea in August into the scandal.
Neither of them gave evidence to this inquiry, which found that young black players were subjected to”a daily tirade of racial abuse” from the 1980s and 1990s.
Williams, the former academy manager, was called the”instigator” of racial abuse at the club.
Anthony – not his name – told the Victoria Derbyshire of the BBC programme he had been subjected to racist abuse during training sessions.
“I remember the very first time that I met [Gwyn Williams] he said how big my lips were, how big my nose was”
He said Williams had made a comment about how big his manhood.
“And that was my first experience. I was 12 years old”
Another participant, Kieran – also not his real name – stated Williams referred to him using racist language.
“I had been coming in [to instruction ] fearful to make a mistake,” he said.
“On the pitch it influenced me since I couldn’t relax. I was thinking if I really have a poor match everybody will say’you black that this’ or’you shameful that’.”
Williams rose to assistant manager, leaving the team in 2006 and joined Chelsea in 1979 as a youth development officer.
His lawyer wrote to Chelsea denying”all” allegations of racism.
He claimed the consequences of the report shown to him were”biased, untrue, unjust and artificial”.
The analysis, commissioned by Chelsea and composed by the charity Barnardo’s, uncovered signs of a environment that was racist.
The report looked to allegations against another Chelsea coach – former England Graham Rix.
It discovered while he”may be aggressive and bullying”, on the evidence presented to them was not racially abusive.
Anthony and Kieran stated they did not give evidence to the query because it was paid for by Chelsea and they’d worries about its liberty.
However they both told BBC News they’d heard Rix use terminology that was racist.
Anthony said Rix asked him if he’d gone out and had sexual intercourse with”any of our white women” at the weekend.
“I thought,’I have had enough of the’, and I said,’Yeah, I’d’,” Anthony told the BBC.
“And he said,’If that was my daughter I would lynch you’.”
Rix was detained in 1999 for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old woman, working six weeks and being reinstated as a coach by Chelsea.
He went on to manage clubs such as Portsmouth and Heart of Midlothian.
Rix’s lawyer gave an announcement to the review of this Barnardo, denying he had been a bully, racist or aggressive.
The attorney told Kieran’s along with Anthony allegations were denied by BBC News Rix.
He included the FA and the Disclosure and Barring Service [DBS] had researched and not placed any restrictions on Rix.
Chelsea have apologised for the”deeply shocking behavior” described in the Barnardo’s report.
It said:”Barnardo’s reviewers concluded that the many accounts due to acute racially violent behavior towards young players were credible.
“As a team we wish to apologise to those that experienced this profoundly shocking behavior.
“We’re doing, and can continue to do, everything we can to ensure that many boys, girls, men and women who play with this team – and indeed anyone who works for or with the club – will not have to survive the dreadful experiences these young players endured.”
The two ex-players said it’d felt hopeless to report their allegations at the time.
They said Chelsea had no safeguarding policy in place and there had been no other official to turn to using a complaint.
“I did not wish to create trouble because of my parents in any way, shape or form,” Anthony added.
Anthony and Kieran accuse of trying to minimise publicity by publishing the findings on exactly the exact identical day as a separate 250-page research into sexual abuse by a different coach decades sooner the team.
They said they now wanted a whole face-to-face apology had not been contacted directly by Chelsea since the report’s book.
“I haven’t heard anything out of anybody [in Chelsea],” explained Anthony.
“So, is that just a PR exercise? Are they sincerely sorry and really going to acknowledge what happened?
“They will need to talk to people, not just put a generic statement.”
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