Eight men who sued Manchester City after complaining of being abused by paedophile Barry Bennell more than 30 years ago have lost a High Court fight.
The men, now in their 40s and 50s, said Bennell, now 68, abused them when they were playing schoolboy football for teams he coached in north-west England between 1979 and 1985.
Mr Justice Johnson finished overseeing a trial at the High Court in London in December and ruled against the men on Monday.
The men claimed that Bennell, who became a coach at Crewe Alexandra in 1985, was a scout for City during that time and argued the relationship between Bennell and City was “one of employment or one akin to employment”.
They claimed the club, referred to as MCFC, was vicariously liable for the harm they suffered, which City bosses denied.
The eight men claimed damages for psychiatric injuries and six of them also claimed damages for loss of potential football earnings.
Mr Justice Johnson said the connection between the abuse and Bennell’s relationship with City was insufficient to give rise to vicarious liability.
“The relationship gave Bennell the opportunity to commit the abuse, but MCFC had not entrusted the welfare of the claimants to Bennell,” the judge said.
“It follows that it has not been shown that MCFC is legally responsible for Bennell’s acts of abuse.”
He added: “Each claim is therefore dismissed.”
The men said Bennell was a local City scout in the mid-1970s but not between 1979 and 1985.
Bennell, who is in jail after being convicted of a string of child sex offences in recent years, also denies being linked to Manchester City during the 1980s.
He told the judge that he had been a “local scout” for City between 1975 and 1979, but not between 1979 and 1985.
Bennell, who gave evidence at the trial via video link from HMP Littlehey, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, where he is being held, said the “reality” was that he “was never” a City coach and, “after 1978/1979”, junior teams he coached had “no connection at all” with City.
But he told the judge that he had “always used and exploited” his previous connections with City for his “own benefit”.
