ACCUSED

Who is Eddie Heath? Ex-Chelsea chief scout allegedly involved in football child sex abuse scandal

Ex-Chelsea star Gary Johnson has accused Heath of sexually assaulting him while he was in the club's youth team in the 70s

Gemma Mullin

Published: 16:07, 2 Dec 2016
Updated: 19:16, 2 Dec 2016

Eddie Heath worked as a football scout at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge in the 1960s and 1970s, the club is pictured today

FORMER Chelsea chief scout Eddie Heath has been accused of sexually abusing a teenage footballer in the 1970s.

He died from a heart attack in the 1980s and the allegations from Gary Johnson have only come to light since then - so who was he?

Eddie Heath worked as a football scout at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge in the 1960s and 1970sCredit: PA:Press Association

Who is Eddie Heath?

Eddie Heath, reportedly also known as Ted, worked as a football chief scout in the 1960s and 1970s and looked out for new young talent.

He was part of the coaching set up at East London club Leyton Orient before joining Chelsea.

Alongside his work at Chelsea, he also coached some teams at Senrab in the 1960s and 1970s.

He was described by former youth team goalkeeper Peter Chapman in his book Out of Time: 1966 and the End of Old Fashioned Britain as being "black-haired" and "well over six feet tall".

Gary Johnson, pictured during his time at the club, claims he was sexually assaulted by Eddie HeathCredit: Getty Images

He was dismissed from his job at Chelsea by player-manager and World Cup winner Geoff Hurst in November 1980 and given an ex-gratia payment of £7,500.

He took the case to a tribunal, claiming he had been unfairly dismissed.

According to the , the club’s counsel, Mr Roger Evans, told the tribunal: “The chief scout was spending his time hanging around the club premises and not out in the field.

“He spent a lot of his time in his office, decorating and cooking meals for the schoolboy players.

"He even built a partition during his time there.”

Heath was awarded £1,920 in compensation after the tribunal ruled the correct procedures had not been followed - though the figure was set against his initial ex-gratia payment following another appeal.

Ex-Chelsea player Gary Johnson, pictured in August 1979, during his time at the clubCredit: Getty Images

What is Heath accused of?

Former Chelsea forward Gary Johnson alleges he was sexually assaulted hundreds of times by Eddie Heath while he was in the youth side.

Johnson also claims that he told police in 2014 but was advised to go to the club, who allegedly paid him £50,000 to silence him.

The ex-forward said the chief scout first groomed him at the age of 13 and continued to do so two or three times a week until he was 16 or 17.

Another Chelsea legend, Alan Hudson told the it was "common knowledge" at the club that heath was a "nonce".

He also described Heath as a "danger" to young players at the club.

According to the Mirror, he posted on Facebook: "It was common knowledge that Eddie Heath was a nonse (sic).

"I was around and it was common knowledge that Mr Heath was a danger to us youngsters, but luckily for me, he never came near me, almost as if I had a sixth sense."