Manchester United have admitted they invited a convicted paedophile to Previous Trafford as a “particular visitor” earlier than discovering his crimes.
Geoff Konopka was the supervisor of United’s first girls’s crew from 1983 to 2001. In 2011 he was sentenced to 4 years in jail and positioned on the intercourse offenders’ register for a decade, after being discovered responsible of 19 counts of indecent assault and gross indecency in opposition to women below 16 years outdated.
The 79-year-old was welcomed again to the membership final 12 months to attend a Ladies’s Tremendous League match in opposition to Everton, the place many youngsters have been among the many 20,000 spectators, regardless of having an “lively suspension” on the Soccer Affiliation’s safeguarding system which prohibited him from working within the sport.
United say they have been unaware of Konopka’s previous when he was invited to the match, they usually have now lower all ties. He had been celebrated within the Previous Trafford museum however has now been eliminated.
Former gamers had emailed United officers to precise “disgust” at seeing photos of Konopka on the membership’s web site final summer time. The episode was then laid naked in an investigation by The Instances, which submitted proof of Konopka’s convictions to the membership.
The membership responded: “Manchester United has lately obtained data round these convictions, and as a matter of urgency has been involved with the related authorized and soccer authorities to substantiate the details.
“The membership has taken acceptable motion after receiving this data and can have no additional reference to the person. Manchester United expresses its heartfelt sympathy to the victims and all these affected by these abhorrent crimes.”
Konopka advised The Instances his crimes have been “historic” and occurred 30 years earlier than his sentencing, earlier than he labored at Manchester United on a voluntary foundation.