Motherwell FC launches its own abuse probe

The club says the move follows on from extensive coverage of alleged historic child abuse elsewhere in football.

The directors have begun an internal investigation to find it if it’s possible any such offences could have happened at Motherwell in the past.

A spokesperson said: “Having spoken to a number of people who had connections to the club in the period covering late 1970s and 1980s, we have decided to widen the investigation and have employed a forensic accountant to assist us with the examination of available employment records and club documents from the period.

“We have made both Police Scotland and the Scottish FA fully aware of the nature of our investigation.

“We will continue with that process, but all information collated to date has been passed to the relevant authorities”.

The club says it will wait until the end of the investigation before making any further comment.

In the meantime, it is urging anyone who may have been affected by abuse in football to contact Police Scotland or the NSPCC helpline (0800 0232642) set up to support and advise victims of abuse.