Everton’s Fabian Delph has been wrongly identified as the Premier League player arrested by police following allegations of child sex offences, according to The Sun.
The Daily Mail reported late on Monday night that a Premier League footballer had been arrested and suspended by his club as an investigation continued over alleged child sex offences.
As is mentioned in the report, Everton later confirmed via a statement that they had suspended a first-team player pending an investigation by the police into allegations made against him.
With the media legally unable to name the player accused, fans are left to make their own assumptions as to who it is. That has proven to be unfortunate for 20-time England international Fabian Delph.
As is reported by The Sun, Delph has been wrongly accused of being the player in question. The report notes that Greater Manchester Police revealed that the offender is 31-years-old, the same age as Delph.
With Everton releasing a statement saying that they had suspended a first-team player, fans have put two and two together, with The Sun reporting that Delph received ‘tens of thousands’ of messages.
A source is quoted by The Sun commenting on the unfortunate nature of the situation from Delph’s perspective:
“It’s been extremely unfortunate for Fabian.”
“He is entirely innocent and has been dragged into this by the club’s decision not to name the other player, directly leading to rumours spreading on unregulated websites and social media.”
It must be incredibly difficult for Delph to have sat there and had no choice but to bite his tongue. We can only hope that this investigation is swift and lasts no longer than is absolutely necessary.
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