- Says: “If I knew any of these allegations, I’d have cut ties with him years ago”
By Grâçia Ada Obi
Footballer Jesse Lingard has told his grandfather’s sexual assault trial he would have “cut ties” with him if he had been aware of any allegations.
The player flew in from South Korea, where plays for FC Seoul, to appear at Liverpool Crown Court as a defence witness in the trial of Kenneth Lingard.
The 86-year-old is accused of historic sexual assaults against a complainant who has alleged he abused her from the age of five.
The court has heard the woman made allegations to police after a 2022 documentary in which Jesse Lingard, 32, spoke about his grandfather’s positive influence.
The footballer, who wore a black suit with white shirt and black tie to give evidence on Tuesday 22 April, said the woman contacted him after the documentary came out.
He said: “She was just going on about the documentary and how I let him be part of it when he’s done those things.
“I was like ‘what are you on about, I have not heard nothing about this’.”
He said the woman told him she was going to call the police.
He added: “I said ‘call them if you want. She popped up out of nowhere, to be honest. It was kind of random.”
In messages to the former Manchester United and England player, the woman said: “Shame on you Jesse Lingard. Loads of lies. Your grandad Kenneth Lingard molested and sexually abused me and you know he did.”
The player told the court he had not known anything about the allegations before.
He said: “I would have cut ties with him straight away. My daughter wouldn’t be round there. My little sister wouldn’t be round there.”
Asked by Tom Price KC, defending, if he would lie on behalf of his grandfather, Jesse Lingard said: “No, never. If I knew any of these allegations I’d have cut ties with him years ago.”
Asked why he made the Channel 4 documentary, called Untold: The Jesse Lingard Story, he said: “I made it for mental health reasons and just to show my family, show people how footballers live.
“At the end of the day, we’re all human. To share that footage and to have my family in it was amazing.”
The midfielder, who scored a goal in his match in South Korea’s K League 1 on Saturday, said he arrived in the UK on Monday night 21 April.
Asked if the trial had caused him any difficulties, he said: “A few sponsorship deals in Korea have fell through. I’ve had to hold off on some more sponsorship deals in Korea at the moment.”
He told the court he had lived with his grandparents from the age of two or three and his grandfather was very supportive with his career.
He said: “He basically taught me football, taught all the skills, drove me up and down motorways from Liverpool to Manchester, Crewe, Barnsley, Stoke, to watch me play football.
“He’s been the man that’s got me here today.”
Kenneth Lingard, of Northway, Warrington, denies 17 counts of indecent assault.
