Bohemian FC says it's launched an internal investigation following allegations in a newspaper yesterday.
The former first team manager at the club said he witnessed an inappropriate incident involving a former volunteer and a child, 18 years ago.
This internal inquiry by the club got underway after Roddy Collins claimed he had witnessed a concerning incident with a child in 1998.
However in a statement the club said it has spoken to a board members and the youth set up involved at the time of the alleged incident and that officials insist Mr. Collins never communicated any allegations to them or gardai at the time.
Bohemians said the accused man was immediately removed from his position when the club was notified of a garda investigation into allegations of abuse.
It has also appealed to anyone with information to come forward.
Read the full statement from Bohemian FC here:
Bohemian FC has launched an internal investigation following allegations made in a newspaper report today.
The newspaper alleges that a former club volunteer was involved in an inappropriate incident with a minor 18 years ago.
The report’s allegations, made by the club’s then first-team manager, Roddy Collins, were first communicated to us by a journalist at the newspaper on Sunday evening.
We immediately began investigating these allegations so far as this is possible given the lapse of time.
We have already spoken at length today and yesterday to individuals involved at board level, the youth set-up and other areas of the club at the time of the alleged incident.
We will continue to consult with parties involved and appeal to any individual who has concerns, or who may have more information, to come forward to speak to us and/or Mountjoy Garda Station.
But contrary to Mr Collins’ assertions, club officials involved in 1998 insist he never communicated any allegations of such nature to them, nor did Mr Collins bring these allegations to the attention of An Garda Síochána.
However, the accused individual was indeed investigated by officers at Mountjoy Garda Station over an incident with a minor, who was not a member of the Bohemian FC youth set-up or affiliated to the club, which is alleged to have taken place in Dalymount Park in 1998 and was quickly reported to the Gardaí by the child’s father.
The safety of children is of utmost importance to Bohemian FC. As such, when notified of this investigation, the accused was immediately removed from his position and had no further affiliation with the club.
We have made contact with An Garda Síochána today to seek their assistance in establishing the exact nature and conclusion of that investigation.
Furthermore, when separate allegations against the individual not involving the club were made almost a decade later, for which this individual was later found guilty of, Bohemian FC board members and youth set-up volunteers alike assisted An Garda Síochána with their inquiries.
Bohemian FC will be making no further comment on this issue at this time.
