Report: Sunderland chief believed to have skipped country over Johnson case

Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne is believed to have left the United Kingdom in a bid to dodge the furor surrounding Adam Johnson's court case.

The 12-time England international was found guilty of sexual activity with a child at Bradford crown court on Wednesday, and the Premier League club promptly released a statement upon hearing the verdict stressing that it had no knowledge of Johnson's guilt in the case until his hearing on Feb. 12, 2016.

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The suggestions that Byrne was aware of Johnson's abuse won't relent, however, and the Guardian's Josh Halliday understands that she could be staying at a villa in Portugal following a Durham police detective's enquiry to the club of her whereabouts.

Byrne was due to appear to give evidence in defence of Johnson during the case, but didn't show up.

The suggestion made in court was that Byrne knew Johnson was guilty of kissing and sending explicit messages to his 15-year-old victim, but allowed him to continue to represent relegation-threatened Sunderland two weeks after suspending him following his charge on March 2, 2015.

The Wearside native last represented the Black Cats at Liverpool on Feb. 2, 2016, six days before he pleaded guilty to one count of grooming and one count of sexual activity. He declared his innocence on two further counts of sexual activity, but fell foul of one at the conclusion of the trial.

Byrne is a qualified lawyer who became chief executive at the Stadium of Light in 2011. She is also company secretary of the Foundation of Light, the club's charity arm that works with thousands of children.