126 footballers in prison

Posted Sunday, October 14, 2012 by The Sun

126 footballers in prison
SHOCK REPORT ... former footballers are being led astray

DRUG CARTELS in South America and Europe are recruiting ex-footballers in the UK to ply their evil trade here.

Ruthless drug barons tempt vulnerable former players with the promise of a lavish lifestyle to compare with any of the game’s top stars.

Worryingly, more and more are succumbing to the bait.

And, depressingly, more and more end up in prison as a result.

Latest figures reveal at least 126 former footballers are behind bars — 124 of them are under the age of 25.

Most alarming of all is the fact that the overwhelming number of them are imprisoned for drugs offences.

They are shocking statistics that shame the national game.

So bad that they have prompted football charity Xpro — set up to look after ex-professionals — to reach out to those already jailed and call on the nation’s clubs for swift and dramatic action.

Xpro chief executive Geoff Scott said: “Drugs are far and away the biggest reason why so many ex-players are now in gaol.

“Some have been dealing drugs worth millions and have connections with drug cartels in Colombia and Holland.

“When one ex-player was arrested police discovered a machine gun and a bag full of more than £100,000 in cash. It’s that serious.

“In some areas where we are working, kids are even growing up wanting to be a ‘grafter’ — that’s what they call dealers — more than they want to be a footballer.

“They see these dealers driving round in Range Rovers and Q7s and living the high life and, unlike football, there’s a very quick and easy way in.

“But once you are sucked in, it is very hard to escape the clutches of the cartels.

“We are currently working with one lad who was involved in a drug-smuggling ring and the stories are truly frightening.

“He’s hoping to be released soon and already the cartels have been in touch trying to tempt him back.

“Thankfully, he’s given them short shrift saying he’s just not interested because he’s educated himself while in prison.

“Now he intends to campaign against drugs when he comes out and warn footballers not to make the same mistakes he did.”

Xpro’s research shows that the most vulnerable are youngsters who are rejected by clubs before they break into the big time. They are desperate to bank the kind of money they dreamed football would provide and believe crime is the answer.

Few have done that more notoriously than ex-Newcastle starlet Jason Singh.

He has been to prison twice since being shown the door by the Toon at 18.

Incredibly, Singh became a policeman but his new career masked a private life dominated by drink and drugs and he turned to crime to fund his habit.

First, aged 23 in January 2007, he was sentenced to six years after a series of raids on cashpoints in the North East.

And then, in July this year, he was banged up for nine years for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

One-time Everton youth-teamer Liam Maguire, 28, was sentenced to nearly five years in May for his part in a conspiracy to smuggle £7m-worth of cannabis.

And north of the border, former St Johnstone midfielder Martin Maher copped a 51-month sentence last year after he was nicked with 1.5kg worth around £80,000.

There is also growing evidence that older players are turning to crime to maintain the income football gave them.

Scott is currently trying to help a one-time top-flight star now in jail awaiting trial on serious drugs charges.

And Xpro has devised a two-pronged attack to combat this slide into crime.

He added: “We are trying to contact all the ex-players in prison to see if we can help them during their sentences and also when they are released.

“As far as we are aware there are 126. But that’s the ones we know about and we fear there may be even more.

“We want to bring in experts to help them, give them some life coaching so they are more able to enjoy a far more positive future when they come out.

“Many say they wish we’d been around to help before they turned to crime.

“Which is why Xpro wants clubs to give us advance warning of players — young and old — who they plan to release at the end of the season and give us the opportunity to go in to meet with them.

“It is a huge shock to footballers young or old when their contract comes to an end. It’s not just the money that stops.

“Players have so much done for them by their clubs and by their agents, suddenly they have to cope on their own.

“But if we can get into clubs to prepare players for that day, that’s got to be a huge positive for both the game and for society.”