South Surrey-White Rock youth soccer club Coastal FC has suspended one of its coaches amid allegations of past abuse brought forth by a former high-level soccer player.
In an online web post published earlier this week, numerous allegations of inappropriate conduct are made against the coach. The allegations predate his time coaching at Coastal FC.
On Tuesday night, the soccer club posted a notice to members on its website stating that “in the last 24 hours we have been made aware of allegations relating to a coach at Coastal FC.”
“While these allegations pre-date his time at Coastal FC, the nature of them are of the deepest concern, as we strive to create a healthy and safe environment for all of our members,” the message continues.
“We are seeing this information for the first time. We were not privy to any of this information at any point during the application and appointment process of the coach in question. As an immediate response to these allegations and to ensure that child/player protection is our top priority, we have suspended the coach in question, pending a more thorough investigation and to establish the facts.”
On Wednesday morning, Coastal FC executive director Chris Murphy re-iterated to Peace Arch News that “we had no knowledge” of the allegations prior to the coach joining the club a number of years ago, but that the safety and well-being of all club members was up the utmost importance.
All coaches at Coastal FC undergo criminal record checks, he added.
“The priority is making sure that we don’t put kids at risk – or anyone, for that matter, and that’s why we’ve chosen to take the course of action that we have,” he said.
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