Sexual Abuse In Football Comes Closer To Home

[HSS]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38208329

[billyg]

A couple of weeks ago a guy was talking to me in the shop about the breaking story about child abuse in football down south, He said "I wonder if anyone will bring up Hugh Stevenson that ex ref , he's dead now but everyone knew what he was up to".

 

I nearly choked on a digestive biscuit there when I clicked that link !

[oaksoft]

A completely unregulated business where adults can get easy access to kids.

This is not a surprise. This will run and run. It is hard to believe there will be many major clubs who dont have this in their closet.

[Isle Of Bute Saint]

Seems to be rife in society cant quite get my head round this. 

[El Gingero]

Hundreds of Renfrewshire teenagers in the 80's and early 90's would have came into contact with this man with his links to Youth football.

[Stuart Dickson]

A completely unregulated business where adults can get easy access to kids.

This is not a surprise. This will run and run. It is hard to believe there will be many major clubs who dont have this in their closet.

Its not anymore. These days all coaches and volunteers have to go through the same police checks as anyone else who works with kids. I don't think it's perfect by any manner of means but it's certainly better than it used to be.

[RickMcD]

I got to know what Hugh Stevenson was like when I was about thirteen. I played for Camphill and Hugh was a FP who took interest in the teams. My sister had just left Camphill and she told me that loads of girls were crazy about him. To be fair he was a good looking bloke back then. I got to know what he was like in 1960 when I was 13. Camphill used Anchor Rec for sports day back then and Hugh always turned up. That day there was an absolute downpour and we all rushed under the trees for shelter and Hugh was standing right behind me and he groped me. His hand was right inside my PE shorts and I simply didn't know how to react. It was more innocent times back then for teenagers and I didn't know what the hell was going on. The rain soon stopped thankfully but from then on I stayed well away. Hugh was also a BB officer in the 2nd. Paisley I think and that summer he went to my BB camp at North Berwick. I stayed well clear but there was an incident with a young boy who shall be nameless but his family name is well known in football circles. I have mentioned on here before that I grew up with Archie but I stress it wasn't him. Archie never went to camp. Fortunately for the lad, his older brother was at the camp too and I think Hugh got a bit of a hiding. Didn't change him though and nothing ever got reported. The years rolled on and I was vaguely aware that Hugh was still involved with youth teams even although by that time he was pretty well known as a referee. And I'll now go on to my part in his downfall as a referee. Can't remember when it was - possibly the late 70's or early 80's. I was having lunch with a surveyor pal and we were joined by Tom Gray, the manager of the Northern Rock Building Society. He was also the secretary of the Professional Referees Association of Scotland. We got chatting about football and I asked him if he knew Hugh and Tom said yes, he thought Hugh was a good guy. I asked him if he knew Hugh was into young boys. He was stunned but before we parted he took me aside and asked me if I was absolutely sure about what I had said. I promised him I was. Never thought anything of it but a few years later I was at a dinner at Clandeboye Golf Club here in Bangor and I was sitting at a table with two Scottish guys who had been invited over by the club captain. Turned out they were both referees at one time and one of then was at that time the Chairman or some such. Can't remember his name but he walked with a stick following a stroke . I asked him did he know Hugh and he went damed near apopleptic. He told me that Tom Gray told the committee that he had been informed that Hugh was keen on wee boys. A lot present apparently didn't believe it but Hugh was called in and apparently he admitted everything straight off. They could hardly get Hugh out the door as he kept apologising. Again rolling on the years, I was at a Camphill reunion about five years ago and over a few beers a few of us got talking about Hugh. We virtually all had been interfered with by him to some degree or another. Four of our former teachers who had been involved with the school teams were there but we didn't mention it to them. They must have had an inkling about what was going on.

It seems that Hugh was able to carry on in Youth football despite having been found out. Damnable. And yet we are now hearing that the same has being going on all over the the UK.

Just want to add that  I'm not mentally scarred by what happened. Maybe from time to time I should have seen a shrink. Mainly about the mental damage supporting St.Mirren has caused me.

 

 

 

 

[Guest TPAFKATS]

Thanks Rick. I didn't want to like the post, but that was informative and insightful. Also brave on a public forum.

[HSS]

16 minutes ago, tony soprano said:

Thanks Rick. I didn't want to like the post, but that was informative and insightful. Also brave on a public forum.

Have to agree with Tony.That must have neen difficult to share.

Don't know if you would want to take it further Rick but if you do then this was in Paisley Express today......

I could understand if you don't want to.

 

[Drew]

Aye, fair play for being so open about your personal experiences, Rick.

As Stu D has said, things have certainly improved in terms of vetting adults involved in working with sports and community groups. There is a limit to the effectiveness of PVG checks and the like, however.  A more open, and less stigmatising approach to this issue is probably the most important thing that can be done in terms of protecting children now. As such, it is down to everyone (Eric Bristow excepted, seemingly) to be ready to listen and share responsibility for acting when required.

It has been desperately sad watching the adult survivors of this type of abuse speaking out in recent weeks. Many are clearly still traumatised. They deserve our utmost respect for their courage and willingness to speak openly.

 

 

[Isle Of Bute Saint]

1 hour ago, RickMcD said:

I got to know what Hugh Stevenson was like when I was about thirteen. I played for Camphill and Hugh was a FP who took interest in the teams. My sister had just left Camphill and she told me that loads of girls were crazy about him. To be fair he was a good looking bloke back then. I got to know what he was like in 1960 when I was 13. Camphill used Anchor Rec for sports day back then and Hugh always turned up. That day there was an absolute downpour and we all rushed under the trees for shelter and Hugh was standing right behind me and he groped me. His hand was right inside my PE shorts and I simply didn't know how to react. It was more innocent times back then for teenagers and I didn't know what the hell was going on. The rain soon stopped thankfully but from then on I stayed well away. Hugh was also a BB officer in the 2nd. Paisley I think and that summer he went to my BB camp at North Berwick. I stayed well clear but there was an incident with a young boy who shall be nameless but his family name is well known in football circles. I have mentioned on here before that I grew up with Archie but I stress it wasn't him. Archie never went to camp. Fortunately for the lad, his older brother was at the camp too and I think Hugh got a bit of a hiding. Didn't change him though and nothing ever got reported. The years rolled on and I was vaguely aware that Hugh was still involved with youth teams even although by that time he was pretty well known as a referee. And I'll now go on to my part in his downfall as a referee. Can't remember when it was - possibly the late 70's or early 80's. I was having lunch with a surveyor pal and we were joined by Tom Gray, the manager of the Northern Rock Building Society. He was also the secretary of the Professional Referees Association of Scotland. We got chatting about football and I asked him if he knew Hugh and Tom said yes, he thought Hugh was a good guy. I asked him if he knew Hugh was into young boys. He was stunned but before we parted he took me aside and asked me if I was absolutely sure about what I had said. I promised him I was. Never thought anything of it but a few years later I was at a dinner at Clandeboye Golf Club here in Bangor and I was sitting at a table with two Scottish guys who had been invited over by the club captain. Turned out they were both referees at one time and one of then was at that time the Chairman or some such. Can't remember his name but he walked with a stick following a stroke . I asked him did he know Hugh and he went damed near apopleptic. He told me that Tom Gray told the committee that he had been informed that Hugh was keen on wee boys. A lot present apparently didn't believe it but Hugh was called in and apparently he admitted everything straight off. They could hardly get Hugh out the door as he kept apologising. Again rolling on the years, I was at a Camphill reunion about five years ago and over a few beers a few of us got talking about Hugh. We virtually all had been interfered with by him to some degree or another. Four of our former teachers who had been involved with the school teams were there but we didn't mention it to them. They must have had an inkling about what was going on.

It seems that Hugh was able to carry on in Youth football despite having been found out. Damnable. And yet we are now hearing that the same has being going on all over the the UK.

Just want to add that  I'm not mentally scarred by what happened. Maybe from time to time I should have seen a shrink. Mainly about the mental damage supporting St.Mirren has caused me.

 

 

 

 

That was brave of you Rick.  Have my own story but not brave enough to come out with all the details. was around 8 years old the person responsible became a Paisley councillor around the 90's. was in a bar in Paisley with my brother who also knew this guy. I wanted to rip his f**kin head off but calmed myself down as i dont want anyone to know about it. Billy Connelly admitted he was sexually  abused as a child also. 

Edited December 6, 2016 by Isle Of Bute Saint

[oaksoft]

11 hours ago, Stuart Dickson said:

 

Its not anymore. These days all coaches and volunteers have to go through the same police checks as anyone else who works with kids. I don't think it's perfect by any manner of means but it's certainly better than it used to be.
 

Yeah I know. I was talking historically. It must have been so easy for perverts to get access to kids back then.

[RickMcD]

On ‎06‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 10:59 AM, HSS said:

Have to agree with Tony.That must have neen difficult to share.

Don't know if you would want to take it further Rick but if you do then this was in Paisley Express today......

I could understand if you don't want to.

 

Thanks for that but I am quite relaxed about it now and have been for years. What he did to me was perverted but it was nothing to what happened to some. Looking back, I don't know why we didn't speak out. I would have struggled explaining it to my dad, but if I had, Hugh Stevenson would have been history pretty quickly. Would have served him right.

[El Gingero]

I played for a couple of his teams in the 80's and whilst he seemed an odd character, he never gave me any trouble in that department. He did have his favourite players who all had new boots regularly despite coming from poor East End of Glasgow families.

It's opened up a massive can of worms now.

Kids these days I wouldn't imagine are open to this type of abuse due to the checks that are made.

Tots respect to the guys who have came forward and spoken in public about their terrible memories.