THE Scottish Football Association deserves credit for its first reaction to the crisis around child abuse in football. As soon as the allegations began to emerge south of the border, the SFA encouraged players who might have suffered abuse in Scotland to come forward. The organization also established a 24-hour helpline so that those who did speak up could start to receive the help and support they needed.

However, as the scale of the problem has grown, so has the pressure for an inquiry in Scotland. The Football Association in England has already commissioned its own independent investigation into the way it dealt with claims of abuse, but in the wake of several Scottish allegations, the former SFA chief executive Gordon Smith said last week that there needed to be a similar Scottish inquiry. Since then, others have supported the idea and now the deputy first minister John Swinney has added his voice, saying the SFA must consider setting up its own independent investigation.

The obvious alternative would be to extend the remit of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, and some survivors of abuse have supported that idea. However, the debacle of the UK Government’s inquiry into historic child abuse should serve as a warning. That inquiry has been accused of having far too wide a remit and the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry must avoid making the same mistake. Taking on the investigation of abuse in football could widen the focus too widely as well as add years to the timetable.

A much better option would be for the SFA to order its own independent inquiry. Clearly, the first priority has to be ensuring that the current allegations, and any that emerge in the future, are properly investigated by the police and that the guilty parties are properly prosecuted and punished.

But only a separate inquiry can look at the wider questions. How did the clubs respond to the allegations at the time? Was enough done to investigate them? What procedures were in place to protect children and young people involved in football? Were clues to the behaviour of certain individuals missed and if so why? How were certain individuals able to continue working in football after being reported to the police and the SFA? And perhaps the most important question of all: what can be changed in the way football is run and organised to avoid the abuse of young players happening again?

The SFA inquiry will have to tackle all of these questions and more, with the ultimate aim of reassuring football supporters, players and the families of young people involved in the game at grassroots level that the issue of abuse in Scottish football has been thoroughly investigated. Exactly how much abuse happened, and where it happened, is still emerging but there is a realistic possibility that, UK-wide, this latest scandal could be as big as Operation Yewtree, the investigation into abuse by Jimmy Savile and others, and the SFA must act decisively at this early stage.

Confidence in Scottish football has been shaken over the last few days. The governing body of our national sport launching an independent inquiry into the abuse could be the first step towards restoring it.