The FA announced that its review into child sexual abuse in football will be led by Clive Sheldon instead of Kate Gallafent "in the light of the increased scope of the review," according to Henry McDonald of the London GUARDIAN. The FA initially appointed Gallafent to "oversee an internal review into allegations of sex abuse by former players" but conceded "a wide-ranging inquiry may be required in time." That time "appears to have come sooner than expected," with the scale of the issue "growing by the day," and Gallafent has been replaced "with respect to her other professional commitments." The FA noted Sheldon’s past work "includes several investigatory reviews including matters of child protection and safeguarding." He is "also described as a specialist in high-profile discrimination claims" and disputes involving public figures and senior execs. The news came as the organization outlined the full terms of reference for its review, which has been launched with "no firm deadline" -- a result of the "passage of time since the alleged abuse." An FA statement said, "The review will commence immediately. The findings of the review will be reported to the FA board. It is accepted that no final date can be agreed at this stage given the passage of time and the time it will take to recall files for review and to locate all those relevant people to interview who no longer work for the FA. The precise number of players, alleged abusers and clubs as yet is unknown." FA Chair Greg Clarke had previously stated that the sexual abuse crisis "is certainly the biggest one I can remember" (GUARDIAN, 12/6). The BBC reported League Championship side Queens Park Rangers said that it is "aware of historical child abuse allegations made against former employee Chris Gieler." QPR said that it "takes these allegations very seriously" and would cooperate fully in "any forthcoming investigation." Gieler left the club in '03 and died the following year. He was employed by QPR for about 30 years, "working in youth development and as chief scout." QPR said in a statement, "Any form of abuse has no place in football or society. QPR has robust recruitment procedures and safeguarding policies in place to ensure the protection and welfare of both children and vulnerable adults, and we employ a full-time designated safeguarding manager who works across all areas of the club." The club said that it had had someone "responsible for safeguarding" in place since '11, in line with FA, Premier League and Football League guidelines (BBC, 12/6).
