EPL side Sunderland CEO Margaret Byrne is "believed to have left the country following mounting pressure over her conduct during the child abuse trial of disgraced footballer Adam Johnson," according to Josh Halliday of the London GUARDIAN. Byrne, who was expected to appear as a defense witness for the winger but failed to take the stand, "has not been seen in public since the conclusion of the case."
She "is facing accusations that she knew shortly after Johnson’s arrest that he had kissed and sent explicit messages to his 15-year-old victim." The club "has been asked repeatedly to explain why" the £60,000 ($85,600)-a-week winger was allowed to return to the team and earn £3M ($4.2M) despite his private admissions.
Sources said that Byrne "has been staying in a villa in Portugal." A Durham police detective "is understood to have asked the club for her whereabouts, and was told that she was there."
A spokesperson for Sunderland said, "There will be no further comment at the present time."
In a "carefully worded statement" issued after the verdicts, the club said that "it would have sacked Johnson immediately had officials known he intended to plead guilty to two of the charges."
However, the club "did not comment on evidence heard in court that Johnson admitted privately to the club as long ago as 4 May 2015 that he kissed the teenage fan and sent her sexually explicit messages."
In evidence to his trial, Johnson said he told "everything" to Byrne at a meeting and there was no suggestion he would be sacked (GUARDIAN, 3/6).
