Albert Benaiges, the former head of FC Barcelona’s youth system and the man who was credited with having discovered Andrés Iniesta, has been accused of sexual abuse of children in his charge over 20 years, accusations the 71-year-old strongly denies. According to an investigation carried out by the Catalan newspaper Ara, more than 60 witnesses have come forward to detail his actions when he was a PE teacher at a school in the Les Corts neighbourhood of Barcelona during the 1980s and 1990s. One former student has made a formal statement to the police and others are expected to follow. The accusations include Benaiges exposing himself to boys and girls at the school, touching children, making them undress in front of classmates and masturbating with them while watching pornographic videos. There have been no accusations from players at the Barcelona academy where Benaiges was a coach from 1992 to 2012. He had been sacked by Mexican club Chivas after complaints from parents in 2014. In 2018 he joined Vissel Kobe in Japan, where Iniesta was playing. In April this year he rejoined Barcelona as academy director but left his post this week due to personal issues. He had been made aware of the publication of the report the previous day. “I have never hurt anyone and if I have done it hasn’t been intentionally,” Benaiges told Ara. “I have an adopted son and four foster children; my conscience is very clear, I have never forced anybody and I have denounced paedophiles.”