Watford suspend Sarll following bullying allegations
Sarll was appointed by Watford by June
Written by Simon Austin — January 31, 2019
WATFORD have suspended Head of Academy Darren Sarll following allegations of bullying made against him.
Sarll was appointed in June, having previously been in a ‘technical development’ role with Stevenage Borough. Prior to that he had been manager of Stevenage for two and a half years, until being sacked in March 2018.
Watford moved to suspend Sarll earlier this week on the advice of their safeguarding department and are now conducting an internal investigation into the allegations made against him. Because this is a safeguarding issue, the Premier League have also become involved.
The former non-league midfielder has a long association with Watford Sporting Director Andy Scott, the man who appointed him. He was first team coach at Brentford when Scott was manager, and then the duo went to Rotherham, where Sarll became Head of Player Development.
Several other clubs are also currently investigating bullying allegations.
Aston Villa, under new chief executive Christian Purslow, are conducting an internal inquiry after four youth players came forward to tell The Guardian’s David Conn about the sustained bullying and abuse by Under-23 boss Kevin MacDonald and coach Tony McAndrew in the 1990s.
Newcastle United are still investigating accusations of bullying and racism against Under-23 coach Peter Beardsley, more than a year after the original allegations were made, while Cardiff City opened an investigation into Head of Player Development Craig Bellamy at the start of the year.
