Premier League - Wigan sack jailed striker King

AFP - Fri, 30 Oct 08:02:00 2009

Marlon King has been sacked by Wigan Athletic after being jailed for 18 months for punching a woman in the face and breaking her nose after she spurned his sexual advances.

2009 Marlon King - 0

King, 29, was convicted of sexual assault and causing actual bodily harm over the incident in a London nightclub in December last year, while he was on loan to Hull City.

A court heard how King violently attacked the 20-year-old university student after groping her, during a night out to celebrate his wife's pregnancy and scoring a winning goal hours earlier in Hull's 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan said King would be sacked after a mandatory notice period had expired.

"He is absolutely sacked - we will not tolerate football players who get sent to jail for 18 months. As far as we are concerned, he is finished with football at Wigan Athletic," Whelan said.

"Young people look up to professional footballers and we must have standards. At Wigan we're mad keen on setting standards and our players, generally, are absolutely brilliant," he added.

"It can happen to any club - this has happened while the lad was on loan to Hull. I don't blame Hull in any way, shape or form, but we have to stand up and be counted."

King's agent said plans to appeal against both his sentence and his sacking were in place, declaring the matter a case of mistaken identity.

"No one saw this coming in light of the evidence. He's very, very disappointed - because clearly, as he said in his evidence, it's mistaken identity. He didn't do that," Tony Finnigan said.

"He'll be devastated, sitting in a cell with someone tonight. But he's a grown man; he's been there before and he'll take it on the chin."

Jamaica international King, born in south London, has had several previous brushes with the law.

King has a history of violence against women, including convictions for common assaults on two women he chased through Soho in London with a belt wrapped round his fist in 2003.

King joined Wigan from Watford for £5 million in January 2008 and Whelan said: "I do personally regret the day we signed him.

"I always thought his heart and soul wasn't in being a professional footballer. We loaned him out last year, we were trying to off-load him this year and couldn't."

The court heard how King lost his temper with the victim in December after he was repeatedly "cold-shouldered" by women in the bar.

In an outburst of "completely gratuitous violence," King lashed out at her, "smashing" her to the floor, the court heard.

In 2002, King spent five months in prison when found at the wheel of a stolen BMW car, an incident that happened after he'd been given a community rehabilitation order for trying to buy a laptop with a cloned credit card and damaging property when detained by store security staff.

King found himself involved in more off-field controversy when, in November 2008, he was allegedly involved in a fracas with Hull team-mate Dean Windass in a casino in Scarborough.

And in December - just days before the nightclub incident - King was banned from driving for 56 days after being caught speeding at 106mph on a road where the limit was 60mph.

AFP

Comment 31 - 50 of 50

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  1. why is going to prison??????
    did he forget to say­ that is black???? and all the whites are racists!!!!!!!­ and black people are not racist..
    and if he was in­ africa is life was better for him ,is good friends and­ family.
    europe needs people who work hard for they­ money not this type of guy or is racist black friends­ who forget a few years ago they had no food on the­ table...

    From jose, on Sat 31 Oct 11:47PM

  2. "King - who has 13 previous convictions including­ one for violence against women"...The British­ 'justice' system is a complete joke! Well, it­ would be a joke if people's lives weren't being­ ruined by psychopaths that should've already been­ imprisoned years ago. I had no idea King was such scum.­ Britain should have the 3 convictions, of any criminal­ nature, equals a life term, like in America. Most­ people have zero convictions. Most offenders are repeat­ offenders and should be exterminated­ really.

    "King's wife Julie - a former Miss­ Zambia - has vowed to stand by her husband. Speaking to­ The Mirror from their mock-Tudor home in Goff's­ Oak, Hertfordshire, she said: "I'm standing by­ him because I love him and I know he is­ innocent.""...Sounds like she has the man she­ deserves. Scum!

    From Goatlips, on Sat 31 Oct 11:38AM

  3. this queen shud get lyf imprisonment. such crimes r not­ 2 b tolerated

    From chimwemwew, on Fri 30 Oct 6:40PM

  4. this queen shud get lyf imprisonment. such crimes r not­ 2 b tolerated

    From chimwemwew, on Fri 30 Oct 6:40PM

  5. some of what marlon king has done--------

    Dec­ 1997...Head butt to opponent......80 hours community­ service
    May 1999...Theft from a person, theft from a­ car, fraudulent use of vehicle documents....find­ £240.00
    Jan 2002...Drink driving and no­ insurance....find £650.00 and 9 mth ban
    Jan­ 2002...Gaining property by deception.....6mth community­ rehab and £100.00 comp frpr criminal damage
    May 2002..­ Jailed for 18mth, reduced to 9mth for receiving a 32.K­ BMW
    June 2003..Two common assaults on women £1600.00­ fine, sent to drug rehab
    May 2006...Affray, for­ slapping a woman's backside and face and spat at­ her...find £300.00 with £500.00 compo

    he as 13­ conviction in total, including 3 other offences toward­ woman, this guy is a menace to woman, a potential­ rapist. 18mth is not long enough, he should have been­ jailed using public protection orders which would mean­ an indefinite prison term.

    From yorkie, on Fri 30 Oct 2:30PM

  6. stevie g wasnt sent to jail cos he's got better­ lawyers than marlon queen, simple as that

    From the silent assassin, on Fri 30 Oct 2:14PM

  7. good work yorkie!
    great call!

    From chris, on Fri 30 Oct 1:45PM

  8. MARLON KING

    SOON TO BE

    MARLON QUEEN

    From yorkie, on Fri 30 Oct 1:41PM

  9. Should be 1 strike & your out...out the country­ that is if you an immigrant, just who do they think­ they are, over paid a**ehole

    From GRAEME, on Fri 30 Oct 12:47PM

  10. MARLON KING.. KING OF STUPIDITY I WOULD SAY!!!

    From Vítor, on Fri 30 Oct 12:31PM

  11. Is King a good player?
    No(thumbs up)
    Yes(thumbs down)

    From Wt, on Fri 30 Oct 11:21AM

  12. THIS CLOWN APPARENTLY ""ASKED THIS YOUNG GIRL­ ,DONT YOU KNOW WHO I AM ''..YES WE A:LL KNOW­ WHO YOU ARE...YOU REALLY ARE IN IDIOT,SELF CENTERED­ CLOWN,DISGRACE TO THE ""JAMACIAN­ PEOPLE:...YOU SHOULD HAVE GOT 18 YEARS NOT 18­ MONTHS...AND NEVER,NEVER BE ""BOUGHT BY­ ANOTHER CLUB''...I HOPE IN JAIL YOU HAVE A ­ COMPUTER ( PROVIDING ITS NOT STOLEN BY YOU) SO­ YOU CAN READ WHAT LOVERS OF FOOTBALL AND WHO UNDERSTAND­ HUMAN DIGNITY THINK OF YOU .ARE ...ABSOLUTE­ TRASH.......THATS YOU IN 2 WORDS....MY SYMPATHY REALLY­ GOES TO THIS YOUNG GIRL....I CERTAINLY HOPE SHE­ RECOVERS FROM THIS ATTACK

    From beau, on Fri 30 Oct 11:20AM

  13. I applaud Wigan Athletic AT LEAST THERE IS ONE TEAM­ MANAGEMENT WITH SCRUPLES WE MUST NOT FORGET THAT YOUNG­ PEOPLE LOOK UP TO SPORTSMEN i THINK HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN­ GIVEN A LONGER SENTENCE

    From jay23bee, on Fri 30 Oct 11:16AM

  14. Most footballers think big and then misbehave. Stephen­ Gerrard too should be jailed for assault. I saw the­ video.

    From koonlay, on Fri 30 Oct 10:44AM
  15. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I love you too Donney Baby! I´d die for just one­ touch... You know i need you Baby...
    Greetings from­ Liverpool!

    From Scouse-Baby, on Fri 30 Oct 10:39AM

  16. 26- If you can explain to me how Gerrard got off -other­ than the fact he's rich and carries a big rep- for­ walking away then coming back and pounding his victim,­ then I'll agree with you. The guy should be in­ jail.

    From Maxx92, on Fri 30 Oct 10:38AM

  17. Alan B is right on all accounts. Except Stevie G should­ have gotten more than 12 months.

    From Maxx92, on Fri 30 Oct 10:35AM

  18. HE SHOULD HAVE GOT 5 YEARS HES A BIG MAN TO HIT A WOMAN­ TIME AFTER TIME FOOTBALLERS ARE GETTING AWAY WITH­ FIGHTING ITS ABOUT TIME THAY GOT SENT DOWN GERRARD­ SHOULD HAVE GOT 12 MONTHS

    From ALAN B, on Fri 30 Oct 10:29AM

  19. rehabilitation is a made up word so some weak minded­ probation officer can say they have done a fine job in­ helping people that play the system, there is no such­ thing in the British prison system, I say lock him up,­ throw away the key.

    From yorkie, on Fri 30 Oct 10:15AM

  20. heard it all on ssn curtis davis(possibly a villa­ player)has just said that once his sentance is served­ he will have rehabilitated himself and learnt a­ lesson-mmmm dont think so, has he not done jail time­ before,how many chances will he get?a bit like joey­ barton methinks!

    From jolfc19, on Fri 30 Oct 10:08AM
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