Advertisement

Non-league football club Selby perform U-turn over signing player jailed for domestic violence

Football pitch.
Football pitch.

Non-league Selby have reversed their decision to sign a player who was jailed for domestic violence following criticism from the club's supporters and sponsors.

The Northern Counties East League club announced this week that they were signing Reece Thompson, who was sentenced to three years in prison for assault and grievous bodily harm and is subject to a 10-year restraining order.

But on Wednesday in a brief social media post, the club wrote: "Further to our previous statement, we have listened to all of the comments and Reece Thompson will not be signing for Selby Town Football Club."

It is the second time the club have U-turned on signing Thompson, who played for them on a trial basis in August, only for the club to admit they had made a "serious error of judgement".

In an updated statement this week, Selby announced they would sign Thompson after all - a move which led to fans branding the decision "disgusting" and "a disgrace", and prompted a local estate agent to announce it was withdrawing its sponsorship of the club.

Thompson had been expected to feature in Selby's match against Emley on Tuesday night, with one Emley player, Jamie Price, pulling out of the fixture in protest, although Thompson ultimately was not named among the team or substitutes.

In April 2019 a court heard how Thompson had subjected his partner to a three-day ordeal in which he hit her with an iron bar and forced her to eat paint.