04 January 2024 , 19:34
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England international winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has furiously slammed "absurd" suggestions he was among the individuals to have visited Jeffrey Epstein's island.
Court documents relating to sex offender Epstein were unsealed on Thursday, with a number of high-profile figures named. Epstein died in prison in 2019 at the age of 66, and was awaiting trial over sex trafficking charges at the time of his death.
Rumours had previously surfaced on social media that suggested Hudson-Odoi, who plays his club football for Nottingham Forest, is among those who could be named. There has never been any evidence provided to link Hudson-Odoi with Epstein. and the 23-year-old had not previously commented on the matter, but says he felt compelled to do so after being tagged in others' posts.
"I have seen this circulating around social media for a while now, and I wasn't going to comment on it as it is absurd (and I would have been a child at the time," Hudson-Odoi wrote on an Instagram story. "However, understanding my position as a role model, I would like to make it absolutely clear that I have never been part of the Epstein scandal nor have I ever been to Epstein island; so please stop tagging me in these posts. Thank you."
More than 80 names have been made public in relation to the Epstein documents, as well as a number of others who have remained redacted. Hudson-Odoi's name is not present on the list, which has been reported on by Newsweek.
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The list includes a number of Epstein's accusers, some of whose names had already previously been made public. Others on the list include those involved in investigating the American, including prosecutors.
Callum Hudson-Odoi addressed the matter in an Instagram story
Winger Hudson-Odoi plays his club football for Nottingham Forest (Getty Images)Hudson-Odoi is a senior England international, having won his first caps as a teenager in 2019. At the time, he was on the books of Chelsea - the club where he began his professional career.
The London-born winger played more than 100 senior games for the Blues, and was among the substitutes for the 2021 Champions League final victory over Manchester City. However, he spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen before completing a permanent move to Forest over the summer.
Hudson-Odoi scored on his Forest debut in a draw with Burnley back in September, just weeks after completing the move. He came off the bench in his team's last Premier League match, a 2-1 victory over Manchester United.