DARIO GRADI has been suspended by the FA amid claims he ‘smoothed over’ a complaint of a sex assault by a Chelsea scout.
The Crewe director of football has been ordered to step down from his job pending an investigation.
Gradi, 75, is one of the best known figures in football. His association with League Two Crewe has spanned 33 years, ranging from a coach through to manager and director of football.
He has close links with top clubs after unearthing some of the game’s best players.
The development comes after the launch of an FA inquiry into child abuse allegations, alongside police investigations that now span 21 forces.
There are 83 potential suspects and 98 clubs involved. The NSPCC and police have referred more than 600 reports to the FA.
Crewe have opened an independent inquiry into suspected abuse.
Last week an ex-youth player at Chelsea, where Gradi was assistant coach, said he was assaulted by chief scout Eddie Heath aged 15 in 1974.
He told one paper Gradi visited his family, claiming: “He came to smooth it over. I remember him saying something like ‘(With) Eddie, (football) is his life and he gets a bit close to the boys. I’m sorry if he’s overstepped the mark’.” Heath died in the Eighties.
The mother of a former youth team player at Crewe said she wrote to Gradi in 1989 or 1990 asking him to investigate a staff member taking “boys into his room” on a trip to Blackpool.
Former Alex players Andrew Woodward and Steve Walters have both made claims against former Crewe youth coach Barry Bennell.
In a statement before his suspension, Gradi said: “I will do everything within my power to assist all investigatory authorities.”
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