There's footballers behaving badly, and then there's...

[Jobi1]

Reece Thompson, jailed for an absolutely horrific attack on a woman.

https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/n...75fwA2E3I3vC9k

We had him at York for one-and-a-bit seasons, where after scoring a worldy against Newcastle in a pre-season friendly, he disappeared for months with the club just saying he was suffering from "illness", which the word on the street alleged was related to Class A drug consumption. After leaving he did the usual d---headish things of goading us when our paths crossed and posting inapproriate things on social media, but I don't think anyone realised he was actually evil, not just a bit of a douche.

[Jobi1]

Reece Thompson resurfaced last night, playing as a trialist for Selby Town in a friendly at Tadcaster. The ensuing Twitter pile-on has prompted Selby to publish an apologetic statement this morning, confirming they will be taking their interest in Thompson no further (although it's rather disappointing they thought it would be acceptable to engage him in the first place).

It raises again the debate over whether footballers with serious criminal convictions should be given second chances. In Thompson's case, he seems to have shown very little remorse for his appalling crime, and was even recalled to prison at the start of this year only a few weeks after being let out, for some inappropriate tweeting and then speaking about it to a national newspaper (bet you can't guess which one). Seems in these circumstances it would be hard for any club to justify getting involved with him.

[Satchmo Distel]

The answer must be that no team should employ someone who has committed acts of violence against people that caused bodily and/or mental injury. Whilst criminals have the right to rehabilitate and get work, football is a special field in that players receive adulation from fans who feel beholden to them for their team's success. Football is a glory game, to recycle an old book title, and players are privileged by the esteem it confers on them. Once that privilege has been abused by a crime of that nature, it must be withheld forever from that person.

[elguapo4]

It seems like he spent fuck all time in jail, with a fairly mild sentence. As said in the reports, he said football is his life, so a fitting punishment should be to take it away from him.

[Jobi1]

In one of the most misguided u-turns this year (which is saying something), Selby have gone back on their original statement and have actually signed Thompson...

https://twitter.com/SelbyTown_FC/status/1308343247547305984?s=19

[EIM]

"A community club"

Are you now?

[Toby Gymshorts]

Well, yes.

Providing that community is comprised of woman-beating shithouses with no redeeming features whatsoever.

[Jumbo McGinnis]

At a time when income is more vital than it’s probably ever been in most people’s living memory, you’d think they’d have not bothered with this re-signing, as I’m sure some people won’t go any longer, some neutral’s won’t go and some sponsors won’t want to be associated to that.

[longeared]

Selby's chairman is an outspoken individual who always feels the need to have an opinion on a subject - my personal favourite was the time he moaned at referees not buying raffle tickets. Their fans often seem a bit twatty whenever I've encountered them. Not my favourite NCEL club even before this.

[Duncan Gardner]

Shock jock Stephen Nolan covered this broad theme in his 5 Live and NI shows the other day. Irish League side Glentoran have just signed a player recently released after 3months in prison for sexual offences. Nolan"s closing comment "Look, the butcher isn't a role model". Which sums up his lack of knowledge of/ interest in the local game

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

How the fucking fuck do you only get 40 months for that?

[pebblethefish]

How the fucking fuck do you only get 40 months for that?

Given that April 2019 is considerably less than 40 months ago, I'd say he didn't.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Quite. There's an awful lot in that courtcase that suggests that he's a dangerous psychopath. If prison is supposed to be for anything, it's supposed to be there to protect society from the likes of this cunt.

[Jumbo McGinnis]

What’s it called where you do a U-turn on your U-turn? After signing him, then not signing him, then signing him again, Selby have decided against signing him. Again.

[Janik]

On the question of how he was out already, 40 months = 20 months in jail. And that 20 months could include any time on remand, which he may well have been given the heinousness of his crimes. If so the starting date wouldn’t be the trial last April but the date of arrest. On top of that, as the sentence was under 4 years it can include a 135-day home curfew that counts towards the 20 months in jail. Given the recall to prison, it seems likely that he had (and f*cked up because he would appear to be a misogynistic loudmouth thug) precisely that. That takes it down to around 15-and-a-half months inside.

How three days assaulting and torturing someone only gets you a 40 months sentence? I don’t have an answer to that.

It looks hopeful that Football will be taken away from him, though. Surely no other club is going to want the bad publicity Selby have just poured all over their own heads.

[Jobi1]

What’s it called where you do a U-turn on your U-turn? After signing him, then not signing him, then signing him again, Selby have decided against signing him. Again.

Yep, quite astonishing. One more U-turn and I reckon that makes the infinity symbol...

https://twitter.com/SelbyTown_FC/status/1308707252107448320?s=19