Leading Premier League figure 'wins anonymity in civil case accusing him of historical sexual abuse of a teenage girl'

A leading Premier League figure has won a High Court anonymity order in a civil case against him for alleged sexual abuse of a teenage girl.

The figure, who is said to be well-known and is being sued for aggravated damages by a woman who claims she was 15 when the alleged abuse took place over 20 years ago, will not be made known to the media amid the case.

The judge in the case ruled 'there is no sufficient countervailing public interest in disclosure'' meaning the case is listed without the defendant's name in legal documents.

Lawyers are said to have put forward the case to High Court's King Bench Division that the man in question should have remained anonymous because of the potential harm it could have on him.

According to court documents seen by The Athletic, the final decision was made to 'protect the interests of the defendant' and 'secure the administration of justice'.

The accused is alleged to have 'committed trespass to the claimant's person (assault and battery) and intentionally inflicted injury', causing psychological harm to the alleged victim.

They have also reportedly been investigated for several other alleged historic sexual offences including allegations of rape and sexual abuse of teenage girls.

The police said in a statement that the investigations are now over with no further action to be taken.

'Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and acting on advice received from them, we have taken the decision that no further action will be taken in relation to a number of the allegations,' they said.

The alleged victim has said when she came forward in 2021 that the alleged rape took place in the man's house. The case is said to have been referred to the force's unite for investigating sexual offences against under-16s.

She was however reportedly informed that a legal loophole meant the complaint had been made too late, because, per the 1956 Sexual Offences Act, if the alleged victim was aged between 13 and 15 she had to have made a complaint within a year if the alleged abuse took place between 1956 and 2004.

The law, which only applied to girls and not boys, was abolished when the 2003 Sexual Offences Act was introduced, but still stood if the alleged offence took place prior.

A decision was taken for no action to be taken with the case left on file.

An FA statement read: 'We have robust safeguarding measures in place and all referrals into us are handled in line with our policies and procedures. 

'We investigate and assess all allegations and concerns about individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children and adults in football and, where applicable, can impose proportionate safeguarding measures in accordance with FA safeguarding regulations. We do not comment on individual cases.'

The man, who still works in football, is not thought to have been subject to any safeguarding measures, though could potentially be in close proximity to women and girl footballers in his work.