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- The sexual abuse scandal at Crewe Alexandra F.C. concerned child sexual abuse by former football coach Barry Bennell while employed at English professional football club Crewe Alexandra in the 1980s. While Bennell had been convicted for sex offences in the US in 1994 and in the UK in 1998, fresh allegations were made in November 2016, initially relating to Crewe Alexandra and Manchester City. The scandal then rapidly extended as allegations were made about numerous other abusers at many other UK football clubs. The Football Association, football clubs and police forces quickly established various inquiries and investigations; by July 2018, 300 suspects were reported to have been identified by 849 alleged victims, with 2,807 incidents involving 340 different clubs.(Main article: United Kingdom football sexual abuse scandal)
Because of its associations with Bennell, Crewe was targeted by police, media and football organisation investigations. Bennell was tried, convicted and imprisoned in 2018, while Crewe Alexandra and its former manager and director Dario Gradi were repeatedly criticised for failures at the time of Bennell's offences, for slow and inadequate apologies, and for not undertaking detailed internal investigations. The Football Association's Sheldon report, published in March 2021, criticised the club for various shortcomings, while Gradi was additionally criticised for his role in 'smoothing over' an unrelated incident while he was assistant manager at Chelsea F.C. in the 1970s. Gradi was suspended from football by the FA in late 2016. Crewe chairman John Bowler resigned as a director and chairman of Crewe Alexandra following publication of the FA's report. In addition to criminal prosecutions against the abusers, civil actions for damages were also instigated against their employers, including Crewe Alexandra. (en)
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- The sexual abuse scandal at Crewe Alexandra F.C. concerned child sexual abuse by former football coach Barry Bennell while employed at English professional football club Crewe Alexandra in the 1980s. While Bennell had been convicted for sex offences in the US in 1994 and in the UK in 1998, fresh allegations were made in November 2016, initially relating to Crewe Alexandra and Manchester City. The scandal then rapidly extended as allegations were made about numerous other abusers at many other UK football clubs. The Football Association, football clubs and police forces quickly established various inquiries and investigations; by July 2018, 300 suspects were reported to have been identified by 849 alleged victims, with 2,807 incidents involving 340 different clubs. (en)
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