Friday 25 November 2016 19:09, UK
Paul Stewart believes the number of players speaking out over the sexual abuse they suffered as teenagers could reach the hundreds.
The former Tottenham and Liverpool forward revealed this week that he was sexually assaulted by a youth-team coach as a child over a four-year period.
The 52-year-old spoke up after reading Andy Woodward's account of the abuse he suffered at the hands of coach Barry Bennell while at Crewe Alexandra between the ages of 11 and 15.
Steve Walters, another former Crewe player, broke his silence to The Guardian, while former England striker David White also spoke out and Stewart, who admits he turned to drugs and alcohol as a result of his ordeal, decided to follow suit in the hope of encouraging others to speak out.
Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, Stewart, who was capped three times by England in the early 1990s, said: "These days there are measures in place so that people are checked.
"But even before me, people came forward. Whether they made it as a professional footballer or were just part of a team I think you will find there will be hundreds that will come forward and say that it happened to them and I think possibly it will reach the whole country at some stage.
"Most of them will have seen how difficult some of the interviews I have done over the past week and how hard it has been for me to come forward. I am not one who likes to be in the spotlight, even though I played professional football, but it was never something I enjoyed particularly.
"It has been difficult for me but I have received great support from people from all around the country, even outside the country. It has been absolutely unbelievable and I would urge anyone to come forward so that we can bring the people to justice and so that they can have closure in their lives and move forward however old they are.
"I do believe the tip of the iceberg has only just been touched with regard to this problem."
Stewart, who told Sky News he knows of two others who were abused by the same coach, admits the torment suffered through the abuse affects his life to this day but hopes to finally move on having now shared the burden he has carried for the past 41 years.
"It has made it very difficult and those around me have suffered as much as I have over the years because I have been void of all emotions and not been able to show any affection towards my children and my wife or to any of my close family," he said.
"Unfortunately I turned to drugs at one point and needed help to get off the habit. I also turned to alcohol. You put yourself in so many dark places just to forget not only what happened to you but how you actually feel carrying this burden around with you.
"When I read Andy Woodward's newspaper article it prompted me straight away to think to reply to that and I had to think about that and make sure my wife and children and parents were comfortable with me coming forward. I knew that coming forward was the right thing to do but I had to look at what impact it may have on those close to me.
"It's very difficult with the emotions that are up and down at the moment to know whether this is going to help me, but more importantly I think it will help others who have suffered what I have suffered, and what Andy has suffered, and the other players that have bravely come forward.
"I just hope that people still come forward. I don't want them to feel ashamed and that they are in any way to blame for what has happened to them. I don't think we will eradicate this problem. I think it goes across all sports but if it makes one, two or three of them think twice about approaching a child then at least we have done some good."
Meanwhile, Cheshire Police have revealed allegations of historical sexual abuse in football have been made against "more than one individual".
In a statement, the force said: "We can confirm that a growing number of disclosures have been made to Cheshire Constabulary, including referrals received from the NSPCC in relation to non-recent child sexual abuse linked to football. These have included allegations made against more than one individual.
Officers continue to contact all those individuals who have disclosed information. Cheshire Constabulary understands that this is an extremely difficult and emotive subject, and hard to talk about, but anyone who has been directly affected by this is encouraged to contact police on 101.
If you don't feel you can speak to the police, or you have information that could help, you can call the NSPCC/FA helpline on 0800 023 2642.
And Hampshire Police say they are investigating a complaint of historic child abuse within the football community.
The investigation is part of Hampshire Constabulary's Operation Marmion. For operational reasons, they will not be commenting further at this stage.
