THE statue of Saints legend Ted Bates will remain outside St Mary's Stadium after the club ruled it must stay.

Southampton FC considered removing the statue after a claim the former player, manager, director and president had ignored a warning about paedophile Bob Higgins.

Saints youth coach Higgins was jailed for 24 years in 2019 for abusing schoolboy players in his care in the 1970s and 1980s.

His abuse sparked an independent review by a QC, which revealed a former headteacher told police Bates was "enraged" at being warned about Higgins and would take legal action over "what he called malicious gossip".

But now bosses at Saints have confirmed the statue will stay put as they say there is no majority view among Higgins abuse survivors that it should be removed. Bates has not been accused of perpetrating abuse.

READ MORE: Saints statement on future of Ted Bates statue in full

A spokesperson also said the club "cannot be certain of the status or reliability" of the headteacher's statement - but added: "This is not to say that we do not believe the statement or question it."

A Saints statement said: "We can confirm that we will not be removing the statue of Ted Bates.

"There are a number of different reasons for this decision, which has been considered very carefully over quite a considerable period of time."

The club said it did not want to take action that would be unpopular with the "vast majority of relevant stakeholders" and risk a backlash against survivors.

One Higgins abuse survivor criticised the decision. He told the Echo: "They're frightened of the fans' reaction.

"They've been telling me they're going to put it to the fans and let the fans decide."

He added: "Southampton are too scared to pull it down in case of the backlash they might get."

The £112,000 statue is a tribute to the man seen as a legend by many - with fans regularly snapping selfie photos ahead of home games.

Bates died in 2003 aged 85 - long before Higgins was successfully prosecuted for the abuse of 24 boys.

A Barnardo's report - commissioned by Saints - and Clive Sheldon QC's report into abuse in football both make reference to the headteacher's warning to Bates in 1974.

The Sheldon report said the headteacher told police: “Bates was enraged and threatened to take legal action if I persisted with what he called malicious gossip”.

But the report adds: "It has not been possible to verify (the headteacher’s) account of his conversation with Ted Bates."

In a statement Saints told the Echo: "This issue was brought to us for consideration and we have engaged widely on it since then.

"We are not inclined to make gestures of this nature and feel that in this case the statue should stand to remind everyone of the journey that happened over the course of Ted Bates’ time at Southampton.

"This includes his loyalty and achievements as a player and manager as well as the fact that he was a member of the board during the period when systemic sexual abuse took place at the club should be remembered."

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo.

Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website.

You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more.

Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself.

Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents

Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News