The head of Watford’s academy, Darren Sarll, has been suspended after allegations of bullying. The 35-year-old, who joined the club last summer, is accused of humiliating several players with his behaviour.
Watford opened an internal investigation after the club’s safeguarding officers were alerted to the claims this week. Premier League officials have also visited the training ground to make their own inquiries. According to reports Sarll asked whether he could carry on at the club in an office role while the investigation into his conduct took place, but his request was refused.
Sarll was the manager at Stevenage between February 2016 and March 2018, guiding the club to safety in League Two as a caretaker before getting the job permanently in May 2016. He has held previous youth-team management roles at Brentford and Rotherham, where he worked with Andy Scott, who is now Watford’s sporting director.
Sarll’s role at Vicarage Road was to help older age groups make the jump from youth to senior football but there were reportedly concerns he was finding it difficult to adapt to dealing with youth-team players again.
In January he guided Watford’s youngsters to the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup with a 2-1 victory against Southampton – an impressive result given Southampton’s academy is rated as category one, the highest rating available, while Watford’s is rated category two.
After Watford’s academy side progressed to the semi-finals of the Hertfordshire Senior Challenge Cup by beating Bishop’s Stortford 5-3 on penalties, Sarll told the club’s website: “I’m really pleased and it’s enjoyable to be able to give young players who try hard every day something to hold on to and something to be proud of. They’ve worked so hard and these are the fruits of that labour.
“It was a very solid, very team-orientated performance and everything this club tries to encapsulate. It was an all-for-one attitude.”
