Top barrister Clive Sheldon QC has spent over a year delving into the allegations of widespread abuse by coaches of youngsters in their care between 1970 and 2005.
He had been appointed by the FA to discover if the organisation or any clubs had been aware of the scandal, or even acted to cover details of criminal acts up.
And Sheldon had been hoping to report his findings by the end of this year having interviewed hundreds of potential victims and scoured through up to a million documents provided to them.
The idea was to go public with what he had discovered after three major criminal trials had finished by the end of the summer.
But those plans have been wrecked by a jury in the trial of former Southampton coach Bob Higgins failing to reach a verdict on 48 counts of indecent assault on youngsters in his care.
Higgins, 65, now faces a retrial early next year, while prosecutors have yet to decide whether it is in the public interest to hit notorious convicted paedophile Barry Bennell with more charges in the wake of further allegations against him.
Sheldon has been keen to speak to former players involved in the Higgins case, and those plans have been delayed because they are still tied up to ongoing criminal proceedings.
He said: “Due to the ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions it has not been possible for all those who want to speak to the review to be able to do so.
"Whilst I had hoped and expected to complete my review this autumn, I believe that this extension will ensure that many more individuals who want to engage with the review will be able to do so.
"It is essential that the review is as comprehensive as possible.”
Source: Read Full Article