After first going to the police in August 2021, Kira emailed the FA, Premier League and the club about her allegations the following month “in desperation”, as she was worried about him continuing to play on such a big platform while he was being investigated.

The club told her it couldn’t discuss her allegations for legal reasons. The Premier League directed her to the FA.

More than four months after contacting the FA about her allegations, it told her in emails that it could take “no further action” as the alleged behaviour did not breach its regulations.

It stated there was “no evidence” to suggest that Player X “poses a risk of harm to children or adults at risk”. It sent her a PDF document that was titled “Football’s Safeguarding Children policy” – which did not apply to her.

“They were hiding behind their lack of policies whilst knowing that the regulations they did have set up were meant to protect profits, not victims,” says Kira.

In July 2024, Kira again approached the club, Premier League and FA – sending them evidence that she was a “vulnerable adult”.

In an email, seen by the BBC, the club told her they had passed her correspondence onto the Premier League and the FA. The Premier League told her it was unable to discuss allegations currently under police investigation. And the FA, told her it couldn’t share any details or updates regarding if any FA interventions have been taken.

“Further, we refer to our email…where we explained we are not the employer of the individual,” it added.

Speaking about the response Kira told the BBC their correspondence has “reinforced a devastating message that I don’t matter, that more women coming forward doesn’t matter, and that even when I meet safeguarding requirements, it will never matter”.

Another woman – Mia – says she believes if the FA and club had acted when they were first alerted to a rape allegation in 2021, she wouldn’t have later gone to the house of Player X where she alleges he sexually assaulted her.

“If they had decided to take the first allegation seriously… if they had suspended him, I never would have been in that situation that I was in that day,” she told the BBC.

“Their decision caused me to suffer,” she said.

While the FA has detailed policies in place for players accused of betting on the game, there isn’t anything similar for players accused of sexual or domestic violence that takes place beyond the football environment.

Clubs’ responses to players and leading figures under police investigation for such offences are varied – with some opting to suspend, and others not.

Some lawyers in the UK have noted the many legal difficulties facing football clubs when considering how to deal with a player facing allegations of sexual or domestic violence, without overarching rules in place.

This month, Benjamin Mendy successfully sued Manchester City over his unpaid wages during his suspension, after he was charged with rape and sexual assault in 2021 and later found not guilty on all counts.

A spokesperson for the Met said: “Met officers are investigating following a number of reports of alleged sexual offences between 2021 and 2023.

“A man in his 30s was arrested in July 2022. He has since been interviewed by police on two further occasions while under caution.

“The investigation remains ongoing and detectives are continuing with in-depth and detailed enquiries. Those who have come forward to police continue to receive support from Met officers.”

The footballer’s club and the Premier League told us they were unable to comment on an ongoing police investigation.

A spokesperson for the FA added: “Our safeguarding policies and procedures allow us to support and protect children and adults at risk within a football-related environment.”

“Regardless of where the incident took place, if the individual has a role within football, we always carry out a thorough safeguarding risk assessment and take the appropriate action if we believe there is a risk of harm to children. We are unable to comment on specific cases, but that does not mean that we haven’t taken the required action or applied appropriate safeguards within our jurisdiction.”

If you have information about this story or abuse within football that you would like to share please get in touch. Email hannah.price@bbc.co.uk, external.

And if you are affected by any of the issues in this story, contact BBC Action Line for details of advice and support.