After his first visit to the police in August 2021, Kira emailed the FA, Premier League and club about his allegations the following month “out of desperation”, worried that he would continue to play on such a large platform while the investigation took place.
The club told her it could not discuss her allegations for legal reasons. The Premier League referred her to the FA.
More than four months after contacting the FA about her allegations, the FA told her in emails that it was “unable to take further action” because the alleged conduct did not breach its regulations.
It said there was “no evidence” to suggest Player X “posed a risk of harm to children or adults.” He sent her a PDF document titled “Child Protection Policy in Football” – which did not concern her.
“They hid behind the lack of rules, knowing that the rules they put in place were to protect profits, not victims,” Kira says.
In July 2024, Kira again approached the club, the Premier League and the FA, sending them proof that she was a “vulnerable adult”.
In an email seen by the BBC, the club told her it had forwarded Premier League and FA correspondence to her. The Premier League told her it was unable to discuss allegations currently under police investigation. The FA told her it could not share any details or updates on whether any FA intervention had been made.
“We further refer to our email… where we explained that we are not this individual’s employer,” he added.
Speaking about the response, Kira told the BBC that their correspondence “reinforced the devastating message that I don’t matter, that more women coming forward doesn’t matter and that even if I meet the protection requirements it will never matter.”
Another woman – Mia – said that if the FA and club had taken action when they were first notified of the rape allegation in 2021, she would not have later gone to Player X’s home where she believes he committed a sexual assault.
“If they had decided to take the first allegation seriously… if they had suspended it, I would never have been in the position I was in that day,” she told the BBC.
“Their decision made me suffer,” she said.
While the FA has detailed rules for players accused of betting on a match, there is nothing similar for players accused of sexual or domestic violence that occurs outside the footballing environment.
Some lawyers in the UK have noted that football clubs face numerous legal difficulties when considering how to deal with a player accused of sexual or domestic violence without overarching rules in place.
