Efforts to prevent child abuse in Scottish football are at risk of being undermined by an "imbalance" in the youth football contract system, it has been claimed. Ex-children's commissioner Tam Baillie said professional clubs hold too much power over the future of players.
Ross McArthur, chairman of Dunfermline Athletic, explained, "I think sometimes in football that people are treated as though they are a commodity but they're not, they're a person and that's the culture that we try and push down all the age groups and look after people."
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-51297745
Tam Baillie, who was Scotland's children's commissioner between 2009 and 2017, praised the SFA's inquiry into historic sexual abuse but warned the issue will not be properly tackled unless the "commercial exploitation of children" is ended.
He said: "If you think about it these clubs have the dreams of these young players in the palm of their hand. There is a power imbalance between the clubs and the young players.
"Some of the control that the clubs want to exert over the children actually exacerbates that power imbalance and we know from painful tragic experience that people who seek to harm children it is that power imbalance which is one of the things that silences children. As long as you have the registrations and contracts in the way that they're set up just now you will have that power imbalance, and as long as you have the power imbalance then there's the potential for undermining whatever good efforts or changes are made through that narrow prism of child protection."
Jim Sinclair, former director of youth development at Rangers, that the compensation scheme for young players "can turn into a transfer market or end up in a bartering situation", adding that some parents "do not have full knowledge of the ramifications" of their children signing deals with clubs.
Scott Robertson, a youth coach with more than 30 years' experience, said "Why have we created a system where we have to transfer money for 13 or 14-year-old children and if the money's not paid they're stuck with the club whether they like it or not." Robertson said it was often difficult for players or parents to talk about the situation for fear of being "blacklisted" and effectively putting an end to their career.
Ross McArthur, chairman of Dunfermline Athletic, explained, "I think sometimes in football that people are treated as though they are a commodity but they're not, they're a person and that's the culture that we try and push down all the age groups and look after people."
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-51297745
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