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24th November 2016
04:37pm GMT

Gradi spent more than 25 years as Crewe manager in two separate spells (Pete Norton/Getty Images)'The first I knew of Barry Bennell’s crimes was when he was arrested in the United States in 1994. 'I knew nothing of his crimes before this time when he was employed by us. No-one at the Football Club knew of Bennell’s crimes until his arrest in 1994 and his subsequent prosecution in the United Kingdom. The football club also co-operated fully with the authorities in 2003. The club are in the process of a review and I won’t be making any further comment until this is finalised.'In a statement published earlier this week, Crewe Alexandra acknowledged the 'concern' about the lack of media comments from the club up until this point.
'When things come out of the blue like this, you first want to make inquiries and reflect from within. That is the process we started last week,' their statement reads. 'We are a proud Football Club and would always take any allegation seriously. Any form of abuse has no place in football or society. 'We have already concurred with the statements made by the Football Association, the Premier League and the Football League that described Andy Woodward's ordeal as 'heart breaking' and praised him for his 'immense courage'.'Children's charity NSPCC has this week launched a new hotline to allow any young people with concerns to report them. It is available 24 hours a day and cant be reached on 0800 023 2642.
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