Eric Bristow Loses Sky Sports Role After Twitter Comments About Football Abuse Victims

'We will not be using him in the future.'

Eric Bristow has lost his role with Sky Sports after suggesting on Twitter that football abuse victims were “wimps”.

A Sky spokesman told the BBC: “He was a contributor to our darts coverage in the past but we will not be using him in the future.”

More than 20 ex-players have alleged they were victims of growing a sex abuse scandal, with five police forces now investigating their claims.

Eric Bristow has lost his Sky Sports role over comments he made about the football sexual abuse victims
Eric Bristow has lost his Sky Sports role over comments he made about the football sexual abuse victims
Andrew Redington via Getty Images

The former darts world champion had suggested the victims should have “sorted out” their abuser when they got older.

He wrote: “Might be a looney but if some football coach was touching me when I was a kid as I got older I would have went back and sorted that poof out.”

Bristow, who later corrected the remark saying he meant “paedo”, also wrote, “dart players tough guys footballers wimps” and said “I bet the rugby boys are ok, ha, ha.” The offending tweets were deleted shortly before midday.

Former Crewe player Steve Walters, one of the players to have come forward, was among a number of players who were “disgusted” by Bristow’s remarks.

Columnist Owen Jones said Bristow’s “toxic tweets matter” as they had the potential to “silence abuse victims”.

(a) Footballers bravely speak about childhood abuse they suffered
(b) Thousands of people express solidarity and sympathy
(c) Eric Bristow pic.twitter.com/VEjAvfy1PS

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) November 28, 2016

what i was saying was when the football lads got older and fitter they should have went back and sorted him out

— Eric Bristow MBE (@ericbristow) November 28, 2016

Trouble is nowadays u cant tell the truth what do u feel out there tweet me

— Eric Bristow MBE (@ericbristow) November 28, 2016

Disgusted with Eric Bristows remarks tonight #stoneagementality

— Steve Walters (@steven_walters4) November 28, 2016

Eric Bristow’s toxic tweets matter. These attitudes silence abuse victims. By @OwenJones84 https://t.co/GZQODgn3vB

— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) November 29, 2016

Andy Woodward became the first to speak out last week about abuse he suffered at the hands of Barry Bennell, a convicted child abuser, a former Crewe Alexandra coach.

Bristow’s sacking comes after Bennell was taken to hospital after being found unconscious, in what police called a “fear for welfare” incident.

Bennell worked for Crewe, Manchester City, Stoke and junior teams in north-west England and the Midlands, and abused young boys from the 1970s onwards.

He was jailed for four years for raping a British boy on a 1994 football tour of Florida, and given a nine-year sentence for 23 offences against six boys in England in 1998.

He was jailed for a third time in 2015 after admitting abusing a boy at a 1980 football camp in Macclesfield.

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