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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that a professional football player who has recently been convicted of child sex offences should be bloody well sacked?

111 replies

MollysChamber · 25/06/2011 19:12

Craig Thomson here

This is really making my blood boil. Horrible offences. Basically grooming of a 14 year old and a 12 year old he's known since she was a toddler ffs.

Today Hearts FC released a statement saying that they are not sacking him and he has made a half arsed statement apologising to the club, his family and friends, but not his victims, oh no.

Apparently the club were warned about his behaviour by a concerned parent 6 months before his arrest but he continued to represent them teaching PE at local schools here

Am I being unreasonable to think that he should be sacked?

OP posts:
AmberLeaf · 25/06/2011 22:12

*Didnt go further....as in managing to meet with the girls

Original poster
MollysChamber · 25/06/2011 22:18

What I find really very disturbing is that concern has been expressed that he has an unhealthy interest in very young girls, now has a conviction for sexual offences against a 12 and 14 year old and yet he doesn't seem to have been punished at all. A £4000 fine - for a pro footballer! - and put on the register. And that would appear to be it. He's a bloody paedophile!

Thank goodness the 12 year old was able to speak to her mum about it. He knows the family and has done for a long time. Little shit.

OP posts:
LordOfTheFlies · 25/06/2011 22:23

I'm not a football fan in the least.I don't give a toss how much they get paid. If the clubs want to pay that much and the fans support the clubs then fair do.

I don't even give a stuff who John Terry,Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch and Ryan Giggs are going over the side with. They are adults and their private lives shouldn't affect their game.

BUT this is completely different. These are children and the most henious crime.Sacking should be the least of his worries.Angry

kaumana · 25/06/2011 22:24

I can't actually get my head round the fact that Romanvov thinks this is acceptable.

I would hope, that regardless of what team/s the populace of Edinburgh support that they make their voice heard. He has to go .

kaumana · 25/06/2011 22:27

I have a son whose is 12 , so have many friends whose daughters are this age. It is sick...

Original poster
MollysChamber · 25/06/2011 22:27

I think Romanov operates on a different astral plane to be perfectly honest. Wired to the moon.

OP posts:
Groovee · 25/06/2011 22:31

I'm hoping that the mafia track Romanov down and do a hit on him as I feel that it's constantly him and his meddling which make the club look stupid.

MrsTittleMouse · 25/06/2011 22:33

He's only been put on the regsiter for five years! Shock Because, we all know that after five years, sexually changes completely. Hmm

And the fine is a joke. Surely it should be in line with his salary. He must spend £4000 on a weekend away, or a new outfit. It's peanuts, not even a slap on the wrist.

MrsTittleMouse · 25/06/2011 22:35

sexuality changes completely.

All the money spent on counselling paedophiles, and keeping violent rapists and murders in prison for life, and all we had to do was to put them on a list for five years and they would be magically cured.

TheFeministsWife · 25/06/2011 22:37

onagar Sat 25-Jun-11 19:37:13
The outrage is understandable, but unless you want every criminal sacked from their job it doesn't make sense to demand it for him.

Are really serious there onagar? You're suggesting that paedophilia is along the same lines as robbery or fraud or drug offences, seriously?

He needs to be fucking hung drawn and quartered. Dirty little perverted bastard! Angry Those poor girls, and their families. I hope the dirty mother fucker gets set upon by some very violent football fans. Angry

bochead · 25/06/2011 22:44

Hopefully the fans will boycott the club until this man and his manager are gone.

Football is a business - if the tills aren't ringing on match days his career will be over sharpish (at home and away games and other clubs fans refuse to attend any matches against this team).

Any fan that buys a ticket to a match involving this club is effectively funding peadophilia. It's not summat decent people want to be remotely associated with. Season ticket holders should write in en masse and demand a refund.

At present those girls and their families are being insulted - it's very wrong.

Saltire · 27/06/2011 13:56

Hearts have suceeded where no one else in Scottish football has - they ahve united fans from across the country - Glasgow, Edinburgh etc (and Scots will know what a big thing it is to have rangers and celtic or hearts and Hibs fans agreeing with each other)

They are all unanimous in their disgust at hims til being at the club.
Jeffries won't play him though, even setting foot on the pitch would result in a riot

Original poster
MollysChamber · 27/06/2011 15:36

Yes, I think you're right. On both counts.

It's looking very much like Jefferies won't play him. He's gonna get pelters for keeping him on the books though.

OP posts:
mayorquimby · 27/06/2011 16:42

Doubt it's his choice. It's mad vlad who's probably making the call. I'll be interested to see where he goes from here as a player.
Lee Hughes was different in that his was not a sexually based crime and he was jailed for his actions but he has managed to forge a more succesfull return to the game than many would have expected.
I don't know what club would take him but someone certainly will if they feel it makes economic sense or that he could help the club on the pitch. Perhaps the sexual nature of his crime will make it more difficult but as Marlon King proved, if he has the talent to improve a club they will take him.

GeekCool · 27/06/2011 16:57

I've just read that one of their sponsors has dissolved the sponsorship due to the club standing by Thomson. Good, and I hope more follow. This cannot be allowed to just disapear.

mayorquimby · 27/06/2011 17:01

Yep some drinks company called "MacB" (sp)
sorry i heard it on the radio so no idea how it is spelled.
Said that they couldn't stand by the clubs decision as they are a company which is family oriented.

DingleDangleDiva · 27/06/2011 18:10

STarted another thread about this and was sent over here.

I too am disgusted by tis, I really can't understand how this does not warrant sacking, in his position he should've been made an example of.

Quimby MacB is a brand of flavoured water very much aimed at children here so it was only right they get rid of their deal and I'm glad someone has had the balls to poit out that they are doing wrong!

Agree Saltire Dp and I are life long Rangers fans, my best friend is die-hard Hibs and DP's best friend is Celtic daft... this is the one football related thing we agree on :o

Saltire · 27/06/2011 22:02

I don't think it's Jeffries decisison if Thompson stays or not, it's mad vlad, who was ranting again in the Daily Ranger Record at the weekend about the Mafia Hmm

duckdodgers · 27/06/2011 22:59

If I was a true Hearts fan I would be worried as I think this will have serious implications for the club now thanks to Vladdys boys insane decision not to sack CT. The club is very much part of the community - whose members want nothign to do with convicted paedophiles. A primary class was due to visit today - not surprisingly it was cancelled. But money is where it really matters for a business - and at the end of the day a football club is a business like others.

Original poster
MollysChamber · 28/06/2011 09:29

McB's dropping sponsorship deal made Radio One news yesterday.

Hopefully more will follow.

The Children 1st charity are also calling for him to be sacked.

I'm just glad this story is now getting some coverage outside Scotland.

OP posts:
GeekCool · 28/06/2011 10:37

Breaking news is that Craig Thomson has been suspended by the club, although it appears only until this has 'calmed down'. Shame it's taken financial reasons to make them act.

Saltire · 28/06/2011 10:38

DH reckons that it's all (keeping Thompson on originally) is part of a master plan by Mad Vald to wreck the club!

niceguy2 · 28/06/2011 11:45

My only problem with this is that by sacking this guy, we're in effect letting the charity and media play judge & jury.

The footballer was tried, convicted and served his punishment as deemed fit by a court of law.

Here we now have a charity and newspapers using the media's influence and playing on the worst fears of every parent to get a man sacked who has in theory paid his dues to society.

I'm not defending the guy. If he came near my daughter I'd personally cut his testicles off but neither do I want to see the Daily Mail decide who should get the sack and who should not.

MmeLindor. · 28/06/2011 13:02

I heard about this on Twitter this week, but not being interested in football didn't click through the links to see what it was all about.

They have to fire him.

It is not about a convicted criminal being able to live a normal life. He abused his position of trust - being a profi-football player is akin to being God for 12/13 yo girls. They would look up to him. Their families would trust him with them.

There is no way they can put him on a football pitch, the fans would lynch him.

mayorquimby · 28/06/2011 13:10

Wouldn't agree that being a pro-footballer was a position of trust. Would agree that his role as a p.e. teacher was an abuse of trust and should have added to the severity of his punishment in the court of law.
However he can fulfill his obligations as a pro-athlete without ever having unsupervised contact with any u16 in a professional role. So I don't see why he should automatically lose his job or the club should have to fire him.
I'd agree the club should fire him as he has brought their organisation in to disripute and his actions should go against the clubs code of conduct even before you consider how this is likely to damage the clubs financial position.
However I'd be interested to see now how the club stands legally if they were to fire him. They have announced they would stand by him so they may have missed the boat to sever his contract without paying any compensation.