Stewart: 100s may come forward

Paul Stewart believes the number of players speaking out over the sexual abuse they suffered as teenagers could reach the hundreds.

The former Tottenham and Liverpool forward revealed this week that he was sexually assaulted by a youth-team coach as a child.

The 52-year-old spoke up after reading Andy Woodward’s account of the abuse he suffered at the hands of coach Barry Bennell while at Crewe Alexandra between the ages of 11 and 15.

Steve Walters, another former Crewe player, broke his silence to The Guardian, while former England striker David White also spoke out and Stewart, who admits he turned to drugs and alcohol as a result of his ordeal, decided to follow suit in the hope of encouraging others to speak out.

Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, Stewart, who was capped three times by England in the early 1990s, said: “These days there are measures in place so that people are checked.

“But even before me, people came forward. Whether they made it as a professional footballer or were just part of a team I think you will find there will be hundreds that will come forward and say that it happened to them and I think possibly it will reach the whole country at some stage. 

“Most of them will have seen how difficult some of …

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