Match Day Thread Wigan Athletic v Sunderland – Tuesday 21st September 2021 - KO 19:45

Not being rude mate but basing your entire post on such a 'thought of an understanding' makes for difficult reading.

Even if it's 100% true we don't know if Byrne informed the club.

Once Johnson was found guilty I immediately ended any support ...

... but I don't believe players should be suspended/sacked every time they meet youngsters.

And young supporters are continually after players for autographs, hand shakes, hugs, selfies, etc.

The man was no doubt guilty and rightly punished but the club weren't involved in an organised cover up imo.

And the supporters were entirely blameless, including those who supported him until he was proven to be no longer innocent.

 

I think this is where I got my info from.

Margaret Byrne quits as Sunderland chief over Adam Johnson abuse case
This article is more than 5 years old
Chief executive admits she made ‘serious mistake’ letting footballer continue to play despite admitting sexual activity with girl

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Margaret Byrne has resigned as Sunderland chief executive with immediate effect. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

Josh Halliday North of England correspondent
Tue 8 Mar 2016 22.47 GMT




The Sunderland football club chief executive, Margaret Byrne, has resigned over her handling of the Adam Johnson child sex abuse case, admitting she made “a serious error of judgment”.

Byrne quit her £663,000-a-year role after facing days of pressure to explain why the midfielder was allowed to continue playing despite having privately admitted he had kissed and groomed an underage schoolgirl.

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Adam Johnson played on while his victim's world fell apart
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In her resignation statement, Byrne said it was a “serious mistake” to allow Johnson to continue to represent the club. “I sincerely regret that this error has impacted on the victim, the club, its supporters and all those affected in such a devastating manner.”

Johnson is facing between five and 10 years in prison after being found guilty of sexual activity with a child and pleading guilty to two other counts. He was acquitted of one further charge.

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Sunderland lifted Johnson’s suspension on 18 March last year – 16 days after his arrest – and he played until he was sacked, 24 hours after he pleaded guilty to two child sex offences on 10 February.

Byrne’s resignation came hours after the Guardian approached Sunderland football club with fresh evidence that she knew Johnson had admitted to sexual activity with an underage schoolgirl as long ago as May last year.

Johnson’s barrister, Orlando Pownall QC, wrote in a legal note shortly after the midfielder’s arrest that he admitted kissing the 15-year-old and sending her flirtatious messages.

The six-page memo, disclosed for the first time on Tuesday, was written by Pownall the day after a crucial meeting with Johnson and Byrne on 4 May last year.

In the memo, Pownall details the allegations and the evidence against Johnson. The note states that Johnson admitted kissing the teenage Sunderland fan passionately and that she was too young to give consent.

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It also raises the prospect of the footballer pleading guilty to that charge of sexual activity with a child – which he publicly denied until the first day of his trial on 10 February.

Byrne is understood to have played a leading role in recruiting Pownall and introduced him to Johnson at a meeting at Sunderland’s training ground, the Academy of Light, on 4 May last year.

It is at this meeting that Byrne, a former criminal lawyer, provided Pownall with copies of Johnson’s police interview – in which he admitted kissing the girl – and the 834 WhatsApp messages exchanged between the pair. Johnson’s trial was told that the football club had no notes of the meeting, which was also attended by the footballer’s father, Dave.

In her resignation statement, Byrne admitted receiving the note but said she did not disclose it to anyone, including the Sunderland board.

She said she was “astounded” when Johnson pleaded guilty and that allowing him to play again was a “serious error of judgment”.

Byrne added: “Mr Johnson’s victim has endured a terrible ordeal and for that I am truly sorry. At no time was the failure to suspend him again intended to cause any harm or distress to her or her family.”

Byrne is understood to have returned to the UK this week after leaving the country towards the end of Johnson’s trial when the club came under fire.

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Adam Johnson coverage shows football has slipped its moral moorings
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In a separate statement, the club said it had “become clear through our own internal investigations that in this instance decisions have been taken by Margaret in error”.

“Whilst swift and decisive action was taken to terminate Mr Johnson’s employment upon his guilty plea, decisions taken prior to this, including the decision not to suspend him for a second time pending the outcome of the trial, were wrong.

“In light of what has been acknowledged by Margaret as a serious error of judgment on her part, we have undertaken a full review of the club’s decision-making processes to ensure that there can be no such mistakes in the future.

“Throughout this deeply regretful situation, we recognise that one devoted young fan and her family have been very badly let down, first and foremost by Mr Johnson and his despicable actions, but also by the club they support. We are so very sorry for this.

“Mr Johnson lied to the club; he also lied to our fans and they have every right to feel aggrieved by this. Lessons have been learned and we hope that the club and its fans can move forward from this together.”

Byrne was not at Sunderland’s 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary’s stadium on Saturday. The club’s billionaire owner, Ellis Short, has so far remained silent on the issue – although the Irish-American businessman rarely speaks publicly about the club.

 

Cheers mate.

I've read all of that and still not clear who, apart from Byrne, knew things and when.

The biggest crime is that someone so inept was being paid £663,000-a-year.

Whatever the case Johnson and Byrne deserve all the abuse but I don't believe the supporters did.

I remember 4 of us walking from Leicester town centre to the ground and having all kinds shouted at us.

It would've turned violent if it wasn't for police to appear.

Still, the Wyke chant can't be defended even though Wigan fans like to dish it out.

 

The club were guilty. They knew he'd messed about with a 15 year old and didn't suspend him. Maggie Byrne resigned because of it.

It was a disgrace, tbh.

 

It was. I’ve always tried to believe Byrne buried it and that it was an individual rather than my club.

I appreciate this may be the ostrich effect.

 

She's always maintained she was made aware of what he done but she never told anybody at our club. That's clearly a lie but at least she done something right at the end and took the fall instead of bringing the whole club crashing down with her.

 

Aye. Canny wedge for her silence no doubt.

 

Who did she tell in your opinion

 

Her colleagues. I'd imagine Ellis Short was well aware.

 

Which colleagues?

 

? Surely it’s just an opinion smug and it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme?

I believe she’d have made people aware. People like short and some other board members. Its just my opinion though

 

Don't know.

 

I doubt it mate tbh.

People like Byrne do one of two things ...

... either keep everything to themselves to claim any glory or the same to cover their arse.

Short paid people to run the club, I don't believe he'd have been involved.

I don't even believe what Byrne says about what she knew and when, or what Johnson told her.

As you say, opinions but I don't think we should be accusing people at the club without evidence.

 

He likes to keep pushing me from time to time. So... I'm away back out to the shops, again!

 

Was she in charge of PR? Cos if so she may well have kept to herself as it was on her watch.

 

I respond to what other posters say, you're absolutely no different.

 

Becoming an agent was a natural progression for her ...

... it requires a certain character and the desire to protect your client/gravy train at all costs.

 

Whatever the clubs role was in the whole thing I'm pretty certain Johnson was happy to help the club under the bus. I can imagine him making his activities with the girl as innocent as he possibly could. ( eg. Wasn't sure of her age when he kissed her, didn't do anything more, blame it on stress or his whole lack of intelligence etc) This lulled the club into taking him off of suspension and allowing him to pick up a fair chunk of wages, whilst he himself knowing from the very beginning he was gonna plead guilty, wasn't gonna avoid a prison sentence and the disgust from the public. How he could continue playing football with that hanging over him is beyond me.

 

His form didn’t really suffer either so he clearly didn’t give a ****.

 

So why leave with a non-disclosure? Or with being the sole person to blame?

My opinion won’t change. Byrne is a leach. Horrible individual in a football world. But I do think more than just her knew. Based on that non disclosure