A married Premier League footballer has been arrested on suspicion of child sex offences, reports the Daily Mail.
Soon after the article was published on Monday night, Everton released a statement confirming that a First-Team player has been suspended with a police investigation ongoing.
“Everton can confirm it has suspended a First-Team player pending a police investigation. The Club will continue to support the authorities with their inquiries and will not be making any further statement at this time.”
MORE: Everton confirm a first-team player has been suspended amid a police investigation
Football fans are used to seeing Premier League players in Mercurials, not handcuffs, so every time a story of this nature breaks in the media, it’s big news, if hugely concerning.
While it’s rare for Premier League players to end up behind bars, there have been multiple instances of it in the past. Players are expected to be whiter than white, but the making of mistakes is human nature.
Here’s five players of Premier League’s past which ended up in prison…
5.) Eric Cantona
We’re kicking off our top five with a big old asterisk, with Cantona never ACTUALLY spending a night in jail.
However, it’s such a high-profile incident, with one of the greatest players ever to step foot in the Premier League, how could we possibly omit the Manchester United great?
In January of 1995, having seen red and kung-fu-kicked a Crystal Palace supporter, Cantona was sentenced to a total of 14 days in prison after submitting a guilty plea for common assault.
Cantona had committed the crime on television, so any denial would probably not have sat well with the court.
A judge later overturned the sentence and instead ordered Cantona to serve 120 hours of community service.
Having a player with Cantona’s talent picking up litter by the side of a road is enough of a punishment.
Source: Independent
4.) Ian Wright
Ian Wright is one of the darlings of English football, with his infectious laughter and shrewd analysis of the game making him a joy to watch on the box.
However, a lesser known fact is that the former Arsenal striker served two weeks in prison back in 1982 after refusing to pay tax or insurance on the two vehicles he owned.
After being rumbled by the authorities, Wright was sentenced to two weeks in prison, which he served in Chelmsford, Essex.
Wright has previously opened up about his torrid time in prison and how it changed him as an individual.
“I remember crying every night in prison thinking, ‘This isn’t the place for me’. That was when I realised I had responsibilities.”
Source: Daily Star
3.) Joey Barton
Premier League hard-man Joey Barton, during his time with Newcastle United, served a total of 77 days in prison after being found guilty of common assault and affray.
Barton was caught on CCTV punching a man in the face a total of 20 TIMES in Liverpool city centre.
With the midfielder already under the microscope following a training ground fight with a teammate and criminal damage allegations made by a taxi driver, he was thrown behind bars without a second thought.
Barton wasn’t ever the kind to toe the line, and that doesn’t appear to have changed with age. The alleged incident involving ex-Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel is testament to that.
Source: The Sun
2.) Tony Adams
Tony Adams is best known for being a former Arsenal and England captain, but the hard-in-the-tackle centre-back has had his fair share of troubles off the field.
Adams has previously opened up about his battles with alcoholism, during which he served 58 days in prison after being found guilty of drink driving.
He’s gone on to partake in a great deal of charity work in hope of helping those who have battled the same problems he did during his younger years.
The creation of the Sporting Chance Clinic, an institution founded by Adams, focusing on helping current and former sportsmen through mental and emotional struggles, is a positive to be taken from his own difficulties.
Unfortunately for Adams, he wasn’t able to turn the corner before spending the best part of two months in a Chelmsford prison.
Source: The Guardian
1.) Adam Johnson
Adam Johnson, best known for his stints with Manchester City and Sunderland, is by far the Premier League’s most renowned former prisoner.
Johnson was sentenced to a total of six years behind bars for for engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old fan.
The 12-time England international has admitted to kissing the underage fan, but insists that it went no further.
Nevertheless, he served a total of three years, half of his sentence, before being released in March of 2019.
Though Johnson is no longer imprisoned, he remains on the sex offenders list, meaning he has to inform the police of his home address, bank details and any intent to travel outside of the UK.
These recent reports of a player being arrested on suspicion of child sex offences will bring back unsavoury memories of the Johnson trial.
Source: The Guardian