Former England Star Paul Stewart Details Horrific Childhood Abuse by Paedophile Football Coach
Former England, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool footballer Paul Stewart has delivered his most distressing account to date of the systematic abuse he suffered as a young boy at the hands of a predatory football coach. Speaking on the Woody Unscripted podcast, the 61-year-old former midfielder described in harrowing detail how he was sexually and physically abused daily for four years by a coach he identifies as Frank Roper, a scout for Blackpool FC who died in 2005.
The Grooming Process Begins
Stewart revealed that the abuse began shortly after he joined the youth football team Nova Juniors in Manchester. Within three weeks of joining, the coach began a calculated grooming process that started with showering Stewart and his family with gifts, including their first colour television. "Pretty much two weeks into me joining, this coach is coming round the house all the time, and he's giving gifts out, not just to me but my parents as well," Stewart recounted.
The coach then began isolating Stewart from his school friends, waiting outside school gates and questioning why he was talking to classmates. "He said 'you want to be a footballer don't you?' That's all I dreamt of being. He said: 'Well, I don't want you mixing with people from school, you've got to be dedicated if you want to be a footballer.'"
Escalation of Abuse
The situation deteriorated rapidly when the coach began taking Stewart and other promising players to Blackpool's Bloomfield Road ground. During one car journey, the abuse turned physical when the coach assaulted Stewart while pretending to let him steer the vehicle. "As I lean across, his hand goes up my shorts, touches my penis. I freeze," Stewart described, adding that he initially tried to convince himself it was accidental.
Approximately four weeks after joining Nova Juniors, the abuse intensified dramatically. The coach would use the pretext of "extra training" to drive Stewart to secluded locations where he was sexually assaulted. "From that day, I was sexually and physically abused every day of my life for four years," Stewart revealed.
Threats and Control Tactics
The coach employed brutal psychological manipulation, threatening to kill Stewart's family members if he revealed the abuse. "When he finished he just nonchalantly leant across and went 'Tell your mum and dad or brothers, I'll kill them.' He said: 'If you want to be a footballer, this is what you've got to do.'"
Stewart described how the coach would beat him if he showed affection to his family, using specific techniques to avoid detection. "He'd bend my fingers back or hit me in the throat or punch me in the arms and legs so he knew exactly what he was doing."
Abuse During International Trips
The torment continued during Nova Juniors' international trips in the mid-1970s, including four visits to the United States. The coach would ensure Stewart's brothers accompanied them, using them as leverage. "The reason he bought one or both of my brothers was to hold that threat over me while I was over there and say 'If you say anything to anyone, I'll kill your brother or brothers.'"
He would manipulate host families into allowing him to share a room with Stewart by claiming the boy suffered from homesickness. "Those trips just became a living hell because of how he manoeuvred his way into being able to abuse me."
Impact on Football Career and Later Life
Stewart admitted that even after beginning his professional career with Blackpool FC at age 16, he continued to encounter his abuser at the club. He confessed to seeing the coach with another boy and failing to intervene. "I didn't go and tell somebody that that boy is... because I didn't have the strength to do it."
The trauma profoundly affected Stewart's professional career, which included spells at Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. He turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. "I'm at Spurs and I'm lining up against Man United, I've got Roy Keane at the side of me, I'm at Old Trafford and all I'm thinking of is where I'm going to get my hit from that night," he revealed.
Advocacy and Safeguarding Work
Stewart first publicly disclosed his abuse in 2016 during a wave of historical child sexual abuse revelations in football. He has since become an advocate for child protection in sports, developing the Safeguarding in Sport Online Course adopted by the English Football League and other governing bodies.
Reflecting on the lack of protection during his childhood, Stewart noted: "I often say there wasn't even a duty of care, let alone safeguarding. You don't want to cause any trouble because you don't want the coach to think you're a problem."
The former footballer, now a businessman in Blackpool, continues to share his story to educate coaches, parents and volunteers about recognizing and preventing abuse in youth sports.
