Manchester United has been accused in a new High Court case of failing to protect an individual from s£xual abuse allegedly carried out by former staff member Billy Watts during the 1980s.
The civil claim, filed by law firm Simpson Millar, alleges that Watts, who worked at United’s training base The Cliffin Salford, subjected the claimant whose identity remains confidential to both s£xual and physical abuse while under the club’s care.
According to the legal team, the alleged abuse occurred when the claimant was a child, and Manchester United did not do enough to safeguard him.
“Manchester United failed to protect the claimant from abuse while he was under the club’s care and supervision,” Simpson Millar stated.
Kate Hall, an Abuse Law Expert at the firm, praised the survivor’s courage in revisiting painful memories to seek justice.
“Our client has shown enormous courage in coming forward after so many years,” Hall said.
“He, like many survivors, has had to relive incredibly painful memories in order to seek justice.
While Manchester United contributed to the Sheldon Review, its approach to this legal claim has been disappointing.
Survivors deserve more than sympathy they deserve meaningful engagement and accountability.”
Watts, who passed away in 2009, held several positions at United during the 1980s, including caretaker, kit man, and groundsman.
He was reportedly moved away from the training ground in the same decade following disciplinary action.
Although it remains unclear whether the claimant was part of United’s academy system, the accusations have once again cast a shadow over historical safeguarding practices in football.
The allegations were first examined as part of the Football Association’s Sheldon Review, an independent investigation into child s£x abuse across English football between 1970 and 2025.
United submitted information to the inquiry, which later cited claims of misconduct by an unnamed “caretaker , who is now deceased.”
The Sheldon Review described several complaints made against the caretaker in the 1980s, including allegations of inappropriate touching, following players into changing rooms, and making suggestive comments.
The report also revealed that the club had conducted a prior investigation and redeployed the staff member to Old Trafford, though the reasons were unclear.
The review noted that the caretaker was “referred to by youth team players as a ‘pervert’,” and detailed multiple allegations of unwanted physical contact.
When the allegations resurfaced in 2019, Manchester United said it had “cooperated fully with the Sheldon Review” to ensure all relevant information was made available.
“Identifying facts from historical allegations is never an easy process,” a club statement read.
“This involved conducting multiple interviews with both former and current employees.
All interviewees provided their full cooperation and information relating to the former caretaker has been included in Manchester United’s submissions to the review.”
The club added that it has taken the issue of safeguarding “extremely seriously,” highlighting its efforts to assist the Football Association’s investigation.
