Children's commissioner doubts Scottish football can self-regulate on 'child exploitation'

It has emerged he has raised doubts whether the football authorities have the capacity to self-regulate amid claims that the future careers of talented children contracted to clubs were not being safeguarded.

His concerns came after he spoke out about bets being taken on 13-year-old Karamoko Dembele who featured appeared as a substitute in Celtic's under-20 clash against Hearts on Monday.

Ladbrokes have since issued an apology for taking bets on the child's future prospects.

Mr Baillie, the Children and Young People's Commissioner, has now raised his "very longstanding concern with regard to how a professional football clubs treat our children."

Both the Scottish FA and Scottish Professional Football League have expressed "surprise" by the allegations made by the Children’s Commissioner in relation to the treatment of young players in Scottish football.

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It has emerged that earlier this year Mr Baillie told Stewart Regan and Neil Doncaster, chief executives of the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Professional League that he not longer believed certain matters surrounding the protection of young players could be dealt with through self regulation and called for external intervention.

He said there were "some key issues which still give cause for concern".

In a discussion about reducing the length of time young players are registered to clubs from three years to one, he said: "My interpretation of the situation is that current practices are more about protecting the investment of professional clubs than protecting children."

In calling for a one year registration period for 15-17 year olds he told the football chiefs: "It is already stated that Scottish clubs fear prematurely losing talent to England because of the vast wealth of the English Premier League, thus denying Scottish clubs the opportunity to maximise their share of the compensation.

"Whilst I understand the dilemma for Scottish football clubs, I cannot see how it is in the interests of children to have their freedom of movement restricted in this way as it appears to place the interests of the clubs before the best interests of the children involved."

He has said there are examples of 15-year-olds being held on three-year contracts against their will in some instances.

And he has now raised concerns about instances where those contracts pay a pound a week.

He says he believes that the taxman has taken an interest adding that there are "reports that talk about transfers of children, which is quite contrary to any SFA rules".

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Mr Baillie said there were too many youngsters involved in the club academy system who would never go on to make it as professionals.

He added: "Really the clubs, to some extent, are trading on the dreams and aspirations of those children and young people. But at the end of the day they are exploiting them for monetary gain."

Mr Baillie said the Scottish government had adopted a "wait and see" approach which was no longer appropriate.

He said: "I think that time has passed for waiting and seeing, and what we need is some action. I've suggested that it requires external regulation because it looks as if the football authorities are not capable of or not willing to exert sufficient regulation for the protection of our children involved at this very young age."

In a joint statement, the SFA and SPFL said "significant changes" had been made to address the wellbeing of young players and said tha if the commissioner had any evidence that could lead to a breach of regulations, they would "expect to have received communication from him".

The football authorities said: "To date none has been forthcoming.

"We would urge receipt of any evidence to back-up Mr Baillie’s claims regarding potential rule breaches."

The governing bodies also pointed out that players can only enter into contracts when they become professionals, and this is not permissible prior to school- leaving age.

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The said the SFA had appointed a Children’s Safeguarding and Wellbeing Manager in August 14 to "ensure the rights of the child are at the heart of all decisions relating to youth football in Scotland" under its jurisdiction.

And a youth congress has been created to give young people a voice in all areas of the SFA's business.

Dembele, who was born in London in 2003 and whose parents come from Ivory Coast, joined Celtic in July 2013 and has been fast-tracked to appear with players seven years his senior.

Following his appearance on Monday, SPFL sponsor Ladbrokes began offering odds of 7/4 on him becoming the youngest Celtic player in history.

The firm has since written to Mr Baillie saying it has closed the book on him and taken no bets.

On its website, Celtic FC said "the teenager didn't look out of place" on the pitch on Monday, despite his markedly smaller frame.

The club added: "What we need to remember, though, is that Karamoko is just 13-years-old. He was given a chance to play last night on merit... it is very important that we continue their development at a measured pace."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said that following the commissioner's recommendations football authorities had since made a number of changes to improve the protection of young footballers.

“We’ll continue to monitor these new measures and would be happy to discuss with the Commissioner and other stakeholders how we can provide appropriate oversight and ensure the young people’s rights are protected," she said.