Not suspending the player accused of rape sends the wrong message to women
A lack of action gives the impression that the club don't take the allegations seriouslytheathletic.com
Not suspending the player accused of rape sends the wrong message to women
Sarah Shephard
Jul 14, 2022
When reading the news that the Premier League club whose player was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of rape are not suspending him, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
The club’s statement to The Athletic told me it all made perfect sense: “We’ve confirmed that the player denies the allegations and is on police bail… There have been no charges laid and the player can fulfil his professional commitments…”
Simple.
Except that it’s not.
When it comes to allegations as sensitive as these, and a sport that occupies such a powerful position in society as football, every action and reaction is weighted with heavy consequences.
On the eve of the ongoing Women’s European Championship, I spoke to UK TV presenter Gabby Logan about her relationship with the game and she said something that came to mind when I read that statement.
Logan said: “Football reflects so many attitudes in society. Sometimes I think it reflects where we are as a civilisation in terms of attitudes and how important subjects like racism and homophobia are handled. If football treats it seriously, then it sends a really strong message.”
What message does it send when a club basically says it’s ‘business as usual’ after allegations of rape are made? Does it say they are treating them with the seriousness they deserve? Does it send a strong message to their players, staff and fans about how they feel such allegations should be acted upon?
Female players and members of staff at the club will undoubtedly have to be around and interact with the player in question. Those in the medical team might have to treat him. Those in the canteen serve him food. Those in the communications team work with him on how to respond if he’s approached by media or fans.
I ask myself how I would feel in their situation.
Potentially uncomfortable, unsafe, unseen.
Rape Crisis UK report that five in six women who are raped don’t report it, with the same true for four in five men. For 38 per cent of those individuals, the reason for not reporting is that they don’t think the police can help. The statistics only exacerbate that, with just one in 100 rapes reported to police in 2021 resulting in a charge the same year.
The club’s statement to The Athletic says they take their “commitments and responsibilities seriously”, but their actions regarding the player, who is in his late twenties but cannot be named for legal reasons, suggest they do not afford the same respect to the allegations made against their player.
The individual in question was first arrested in north London on suspicion of rape and taken into custody. He was subsequently released on bail and then re-arrested for allegedly committing two more attacks on a different woman. He denies the allegations.
We’ve seen examples of clubs suspending players and members of staff for various reasons, ranging from allegations of rape and assault, to child sex offences and bullying. Mason Greenwood was suspended by Manchester United after being arrested in January on suspicion of rape and assault. Another Premier League club suspended a player last season after he was arrested on suspicion of committing child sex offences.
Greenwood was arrested and released on bail (Photo: Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
In these cases, clubs have chosen to suspend the accused individual while an investigation is ongoing.
This doesn’t mean they are slapping a “guilty” verdict on their players, but it does mean they are treating the allegations with the respect that they deserve. That they understand the implications and potential impact on the alleged victims and those around the accused. That they recognise the message their reaction sends to wider society.
It should also be noted that the club in question are not alone in their decision.
Yves Bissouma, then of Brighton and now of Tottenham, wasn’t suspended when he was arrested under suspicion of sexual assault in Brighton last October (Bissouma has since been cleared of the allegation).
Nor was Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy suspended after allegations of nine sexual offences against six women, until he was charged by police. He denies any wrongdoing.
These examples only serve to reinforce the flimsy message that football – and the club in question – is sending about its attitude towards rape and sexual assault. And they do little to quash the idea that the bar for players getting suspended is placed far too high.
Football is sending a flimsy message about its attitude towards rape and sexual assault (Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
It’s not hard to imagine what would happen to a member of a club’s backroom staff if they were facing the same allegations. So, why is it different for a player?
There’s one answer that immediately springs to mind, and it’s not one that should even be in the reckoning when it comes to such serious allegations.
Violence towards women and girls is happening in scary numbers. In the year since Sarah Everard was abducted in south London, raped and killed by a serving police officer, more women were killed by male perpetrators than the year before, while the number of successful rape convictions continues to drop.
It’s an issue that the UK government has promised to tackle, but it’s also one that should force us to examine our own attitudes, actions and the messages they are sending to those around us. Football clubs included.
Sarah Shephard spent 10 years at Sport magazine before becoming Deputy Head of Content at The Coaches' Voice. She has also written for publications such as The Times, The Guardian and The Sunday Times Magazine, among others. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahShepSport
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