There has been considerable internet speculation about the possible identity of a Premiership football manager who was reported by the Sun to have been identified visiting a brothel. Described as a ‘Thai vice den’ located on an industrial estate, it might at first appear that the premises offer facilities such as Jacuzzis and saunas. However, what is on offer amounts to more than an opportunity for exiled Finns to enjoy a social activity from their homeland. A Sun reporter who visited the premises alleges that he was offered sexual services in return for
There has been considerable internet speculation about the possible identity of a Premiership football manager who was reported by the Sun to have been identified visiting a brothel. Described as a ‘Thai vice den’ located on an industrial estate, it might at first appear that the premises offer facilities such as Jacuzzis and saunas. However, what is on offer amounts to more than an opportunity for exiled Finns to enjoy a social activity from their homeland. A Sun reporter who visited the premises alleges that he was offered sexual services in return for payment and in the time honoured manner of journalists in such situations made his excuses and left. The Sun has refused to identify the manager for fear of a privacy action brought under human rights legislation.
What is of interest from the point of view of this website is whether such an activity by a manager could lead to reputational damage for a club which would affect its business. The Government is in the process of introducing legislation which would make it an offence to pay for sexual services in certain circumstances with the onus of proof on the defendant, although many think that the legislation is not a good use of police resources and effectively unenforceable, not that that ever stops governments passing such laws. The Sun quoted an anonymous ‘football insider’ who said: ‘This is a man who oversees a football club which has been involved in multi-million pound transfers and pays players tens of thousands of pounds every week. Behaving like this leaves him and the club wide open to the threat of blackmail by criminals. Football is a massive business and he has a huge responsibility to the directors, the players and, of course, the fans. It’s scarcely believable that he could be so reckless.’ If a manager was named in connection with such activities, it could be embarrassing for a club seeking to promote a family image and sponsors could be upset. However, it is possible that many fans would simply shrug their shoulders.