PFA says Adam Johnson case shows there is 'still much work to do' in education of players

The Professional Footballers' Association has admitted there is "still much work to do" to educate players in the wake of Adam Johnson's conviction.

Johnson has been warned he is facing a "significant" prison sentence after he was found guilty at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday of one count of sexual activity with a child.

The England international was cleared of a further charge of sexual activity with a child and had previously admitted a third count of sexual activity with a child and a fourth charge of grooming.

Sunderland, who sacked Johnson at the start of the trial, say they had no prior knowledge of his guilty pleas and manager Sam Allardyce said on Thursday everyone at the club felt "extremely let down" by the 28-year-old.

And the PFA has now issued a statement acknowledging the "very serious mistakes" made by Johnson.

It read: "It is extremely disappointing to see the damage caused by the actions of one of our members. Adam has clearly made very serious mistakes and in due course the Court will determine his punishment. 

"As the players' union we are very conscious of the role and responsibility of our members and we work hard to ensure they receive relevant information and important guidance regarding appropriate standards of conduct.

"Personal integrity relates both to the way an individual treats him or herself as much as it relates to how he or she treats other people, with mutual respect and consideration being key to this.

"The PFA works with The Football Association, the Premier League and the Football League to develop a framework of rules for the game and these clearly define integrity issues relating to, for instance, betting and doping and to complement this, the PFA has worked with these stakeholders for some time to provide training courses on lifestyle guidance to all young players.

"This covers appropriate standards of behaviour encompassing the law of the land and includes a range of areas including addiction issues and sexual conduct.

"As a natural extension of this, the PFA has developed over a period of time a training programme incorporating the theme of personal integrity for all professional players; ensuring they are fully informed on such issues and includes sexual consent, standards of behaviour and respectful relationships in person and on social media.

"This has been developed with input from groups including Rape Crisis, White Ribbon and Women's Aid.

"Situations such as this, unfortunately, demonstrate that this is a vital area for our focus and that there is still much work to do."

It was claimed in court that Sunderland were aware Johnson had accepted he kissed the victim and exchanged messages with her, while a club statement said it was "utterly without foundation" to claim they had continued fielding the player despite knowing he would plead guilty to any of the charges.

A spokesman for children's charity the NSPCC said: "If they had known he had kissed a girl prior to his guilty plea, then we think they should have suspended him pending the ongoing investigation.

"It would have sent the right message to people that this is a serious offence and needed to be properly investigated."