Chelsea
have been cleared of breaking Premier League rules in their handling of
historical sexual abuse allegations made by former player Gary Johnson.
In a statement released on Thursday evening, the Premier League said the
club did not break any rules by failing to report Johnson's claims, which
surfaced in 2014.
Chelsea have agreed to provide the Premier League with details of the review
into how it handled Mr Johnson's case and will also undergo a comprehensive
safeguarding audit.
The statement read: "The Premier League has received from Chelsea FC
detailed information regarding the circumstances that saw Mr. Gary Johnson
in 2014 raise with them allegations of abuse from the 1970s.
"After careful consideration, the Board has determined that no Premier
League rules were broken by the club not reporting this matter to them in
2014, but has agreed on the following action:
"The League has requested that Chelsea agrees to a full safeguarding audit
from an independent safeguarding expert. The League has no reason to have
any concerns about Chelsea's current provisions in this area but, given the
seriousness of these historical allegations, feels that such a review is an
appropriate course of action.
"The League has also requested that Chelsea provides them with details of
the current review the club has asked an external law firm to undertake into
historical abuse and how it handled Mr Johnson's claim, and that a full copy
of the review is provided to the Premier League and The FA upon its
completion.
"Chelsea has agreed to these requests."
Chelsea apologised to Johnson earlier this month for the abuse he suffered
as a trainee in the 1970s, having waived the confidentiality clause in the
£50,000 agreement they made with Johnson in 2015.
Johnson, now 57, told the Daily Mirror that he was assaulted multiple times
over a three-year period by the club's chief scout Eddie Heath, who is now
dead.
He was a member of Chelsea's first team from 1978 to 1981, but joined the
club as an 11-year-old in 1970 and claimed he had been groomed from the age
of 13 by Heath.
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