The Chairman of the English Football Association has said he does not know if there was a cover up in relation to the sexual abuse of youth players in the sport.
Greg Clarke said he suspected that like many big problems people are not drawn to them.
He said his viewpoint on a major problem was "to run towards it, embrace it, fix it and disclose everything that happened".
But he said he understood that there could be an institutional view "in the old days" that it was better to keep quiet and close ranks.
Greater Manchester Police has become the latest British force to investigate allegations of historical child sex abuse in youth football after media reports prompted numerous people to come forward.
It has joined several other forces and the British FA in investigating the scandal that has developed since retired footballer Andy Woodward spoke of the abuse he suffered at the hands of convicted paedophile Barry Bennell.
Yesterday it was announced that Bennell - a former coach at Crew Alexandra - was taken to hospital on Friday night after being found by medics in what police referred to as a fear for welfare incident.
More than 20 former players have come forward with allegations of historical child abuse, prompting the FA to intensify its review.
Meanwhile, Eric Bristow has been dropped as a darts pundit for Sky Sports after the five-time world champion sparked outrage on social media with comments about the abuse scandal.
The 59-year-old launched into a Twitter rant in which he said "dart players tough guys footballers wimps".
