Matt Le Tissier alleges 'very wrong' naked massages at Southampton as abuse scandal widens
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Updated 06/12/2016 at 20:38 GMT
Former England forward Matt Le Tissier says he was subjected to “very, very wrong” treatment at the hands of a coach who is being investigated by police over allegations of historic sexual abuse in football.
Matthew Le Tissier, Southampton
Image credit: PA Photos
Le Tissier, who scored 209 goals in 16 years as a Southampton player, says he and other players were subjected to “naked” massages by former Saints youth development officer Bob Higgins.
Hampshire Police are looking into historic allegations of sexual abuse by Higgins, who has denied wrongdoing and was recently working with Fleet Town as a coach.
Speaking to the BBC, Le Tissier, the biggest name yet to go public in football’s widening sexual abuse scandal, described his experiences under Higgins at Southampton.
“Everyone was kind of, just naked and thrown on this bed,” Le Tissier said. “Very, very quick. A very, very quick massage. It was uncomfortable. It’s very, very wrong.”
Le Tissier later tweeted to clarify that he does not feel he was abused.
On Monday, the Daily Mail reported that six former Southampton youth players have made allegations about Higgins, who worked at the Southampton youth system in the 1980s.
In other developments in the unfolding scandal on Tuesday:
- Queens Park Rangers said they were aware of allegations made against a former scout and youth development officer Chris Gieler, who died in 2004.
- The Football Association published its full terms of reference for a review into whether the organisation was aware of issues relating to historical sexual abuse and what steps were taken to safeguard children in the game.
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