The Football Association is looking into a series of allegations, involving racism, bullying and threatening behaviour made by former Fulham academy player Max Noble in an interview with i this week.
i has been told that English football’s governing body is in the preliminary stages of exploring Noble’s claims. The former Wales youth international detailed the harrowing experiences he went through at Fulham’s academy over a decade ago and also revealed that he knows of more than 150 other players who have been through similar across football.
After struggling with knee issues throughout his teens, Noble said he was repeatedly given painkilling injections to train and play. Yet when he required double knee surgery for severe tendinitis in both knees shortly before the end of his scholarship contract, when he was 18 years old, Noble was told to arrange and pay for the surgery and rehabilitation himself and informed the club would not be offering a previously promised professional deal.
Noble’s treatment led to him considering suicide, and suffering severe anxiety and depression that he still manages to this day.
After being made aware of Noble’s claims, Fulham launched an investigation, insisting in a statement released to i that they “condemn bullying, racism and discrimination in any form and work hard to ensure that they have no place here”. But i has learned that the FA is also aware of Noble’s story and are in the process of establishing further details.
Noble remains in contact with 25 other players, who played for Fulham and Crystal Palace, some of whom attempted suicide or self-harmed as a result of their experiences and treatment in academy football.
It took Noble over 10 years to find the courage to share his story publicly, but after it was published i was told that his experiences are not uncommon in modern-day academies.
Last year, teenager Jeremy Wisten was found dead in his bedroom shortly after being released by Manchester City. The club have been asked by a coroner to explain what care they provided for Wisten before and after he left the club.
Noble (right) has called for football clubs who deem players good enough to remove them from their traditional school environment to owe them a duty of care if they release them, which will happen in the majority of cases.
Of those who sign scholarship deals, 98 per cent will be released or drop out of football entirely by the time they are 21.
“The only thing I want to change,” Noble said, “is if you take a boy out of school you owe him aftercare. That’s it. You can’t promise them the world, then ignore them when they’re depressed, or they’re going through what I had to go through. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. The academy system is failing, you can see just by the numbers, it’s completely failing.”
Troy Townsend, Kick It Out’s head of development and father of Crystal Palace winger Andros, told i this week that “people have been sharing more and more stories” about the horrific experiences academy players are being subjected to and the toll it is taking on their mental health.
“People don’t realise how demanding that is on someone’s wellbeing,” he said. One parent Townsend is in contact with is currently trying to deal with the impact being discarded by a club has had on her teenage son. The mother says she checks on her son every morning just to ensure he is still alive.
Townsend added: “Some people say is it the game’s responsibility? We’re talking about a young person here, still developing into adulthood. The impact being told you’re not good enough for this club, it goes beyond anyone’s imagination.
“Would you normally treat a youngster that way? Where is the support, guidance, even a reference?
“People have been sharing more and more of their stories, to hear a 17-year-old wanting to commit suicide because the game says you’re not good enough. That’s someone’s child. How can we not be responsible for that individual?”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/39p9oZ4
Post a Comment