After 40 years of torment, Gary Johnson hoped he would get justice for the abuse he says he suffered as a Chelsea FC youth player.
Yet the ex-forward, who said he was s*xually assaulted by chief scout Eddie Heath hundreds of times in three years, said he had no success with the police and that the Professional Footballers Association did not return his calls. He felt he had no other option but to approach his super-rich former club, which refused to accept any blame but last year paid him £50,000 to keep quiet. Now, in an exclusive interview, Gary, 57, bravely waives his right to anonymity to share his experiences to support other victims of the soccer abuse scandal. Gary, part of Chelsea’s first team from 1978 to 81, said Heath groomed him and sexually assaulted from the age of 13. He said: “I felt shame, I felt my childhood had been taken away. I spent my late teens in turmoil, absolute turmoil.
And speaking of the payment from his old club, he said: “I think that they were paying me to keep a lid on this. “Millions of fans around the world watch Chelsea. They are one of the biggest and richest clubs in the world.
All their fans deserve to know the truth about what went on. I know they asked me to sign a gagging order and how many others are there out there? “They may have paid others for their silence. I hope and pray no clubs are allowed to cover this up – no one should escape justice. We need total transparency now for the good of the game.”
This week Chelsea waived the clause in Gary’s settlement banning him from speaking about abuse after after details of his claim were leaked to the media.
