According to the British media Daily Telegraph, the allegations against Thomas had been submitted to the FA, Arsenal Club and the Premier League 10 months before his arrest. However, as these allegations are beyond the FA's protective responsibi...
According to the British media Daily Telegraph, the allegations against Thomas had been submitted to the FA, Arsenal Club and the Premier League 10 months before his arrest.
However, as these allegations are beyond the FA's protective responsibilities for minors and "risk" adults in the football field, no formal investigation of these allegations has been initiated.
The powerlessness of the football community in handling such allegations was disclosed in detail after the Secretary of Culture urged the football community to establish a "minimum standard" to "protect women."
Arsenal club has faced fierce criticism from activists lately for having Thomas play in the three years before he was accused last week.
Thomas was initially arrested in July 2022 after the police investigation was launched in February of that year. However, the evidence clearly shows that the club and the management agency had learned about it five months before the police investigation was launched (that is, September 2021). The primary agency to deal with protection measures in the football community is the FA. The governing body has developed a detailed child and adult protection policy, declaring that it “ensures cooperation with statutory bodies to quickly and thoroughly investigate protection, child protection and risk-to-adult issues and produce proveable results”.
However, after a confidential discussion with Arsenal, the FA informed potential witnesses in the case that the allegations were not within their terms of reference. No information was provided at the time that the individual posed a risk of injury to “children or adults in football”.
Therefore, the FA concluded that it had no right to deal with the matter further. The FA and Premier League were unable to comment because of the ongoing legal process against Thomas. It is understood that Arsenal has followed legal advice from beginning to end. The club said: "The player's contract expired on June 30, and the club was unable to comment on the case due to legal proceedings."
Recently, the review has been extremely fierce around Arsenal's actions and whether Thomas should continue to participate in the championship battle for two consecutive seasons during bail. Culture, media and sports minister Lisa Nandy stepped in on Wednesday, expressing concerns about the club's lack of a "standard approach" when "very, very high-income" players face allegations of sexual assault.
There is no indication that the governing body has failed to follow the agreed policy. An industry insider said that allegations of such potentially illegal conduct almost always involve the affairs of employees directly employers, rather than those of industry regulators.
The FA defines “risk” adults as: people who are over 18 years of age, who have needs for care and support (regardless of whether the local government is meeting any of them), “are suffering or facing risks of abuse or neglect” and “cannot protect themselves from risks of abuse or neglect due to these needs of care and support”. "Intuitively, I think the problem is that there is no minimum standard, nor is there a standard method and expectation about how clubs will handle such incidents."
"I would rather see clubs unite and agree on a standard method to ensure they can protect women in that situation, which will be an important conversation I want to have with them."
The football community has responded to allegations of rape of players over the years. In January 2022, Greenwood was arrested after allegations surrounding material posted online, and Manchester United immediately suspended his position but paid his salary in full. The charges against Greenwood were dropped on February 2, 2023. Greenwood denied the allegations.
Former Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy was charged with rape and sexual assault in August 2021 and was suspended from pay until he left the club in June 2023. However, Benjamin Mendy won an employment court lawsuit last year after the allegations were clarified, ruling that he is entitled to "most of its unpaid pay" from Manchester City.
Lisa Nandi said in the podcast that she has spoken with some clubs about the procedures after the allegations against former Fulham boss Mohamed Fayed.
Lisa Nandi said: "After the allegations of Mohammed Fayed surfaced, I started this conversation with many clubs, and many historic allegations surfaced, not only involving the football world, but also clearly affected women who have worked, played football, etc."
She added that the case surrounding Thomas must allow it to "go to the end", but further discussions are recommended with the club.
Lisa Nandy said: "The government has no right to tell the club what it can and cannot do, but it seems to me that the government minister, namely Stephanie Picock and me, has the responsibility to initiate a dialogue with the club and strive to achieve a situation: let women in the football world know that they are properly protected and supported."
"There is a special problem here, namely, the imbalance of power. Football stars are stars, and they earn very high. They are priority in the club, they are an important financial asset and an asset on the court. Therefore, , there is a power imbalance there, which means there must be appropriate standards and high expectations for how these things are managed. "
"You can't rely solely on people with much lower positions and much lower economic value to institutions to come forward and try to make changes. So, I think the government does have a responsibility here to call all parties and work to ensure action is taken."
Lisa Nandi's comments came after Faduma Hassan, a member of the Arsenal anti-sexual violence fan group, wrote in an article: "Institutional failures are far beyond my club."
She added: "The Premier League and the FA have no clear rules. The club pushed it to the FA, and the FA pushed it back to the club. This is not a loophole. It is an abyss of accountability."
Thomas denied the allegations and said he "welcome the opportunity to clarify his reputation."
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