Kelvin Etuhu Jailed: 5 Other English Professional Footballers Sent to Jail

Manchester City’s 22-year-old midfielder Kelvin Etuhu was sentenced to eight months imprisonment for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray.

Recently, English professional footballers like Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Andy Carroll, David Bentley, Matthew Etherington, Fabian Delph and Bradley Wright-Phillips have all found themselves in trouble with the law.

The cliché "maximum money, minimum intelligence" applies in the case of English professional footballers who find themselves at odds with the law.

In the past decade, sending professional footballers to jail has been of sporadic occurrence for Her Majesty's Courts of Justice of England and Wales.

This slideshow will document five English professional footballers sent to jail in the past decade.

Jermaine Pennant

Arsène Wenger signed Jermaine Pennant for £2 million as a 15-year-old—however, he has failed to fulfill the potential he showed as a prodigious talent at Notts County. His progress has been hindered by a string of undisciplined acts that have landed him in jail.

In 2005, Pennant was sentenced to three months imprisonment for driving under the influence, driving with a disqualified license and driving with no insurance.

When breathalysed, he was found to have 85 micrograms per 100ml of breath—the legal limit is 35 micrograms. He was released after 30 days.

Currently, Pennant is playing for Stoke City in the Premier League. He has played for seven clubs since signing for Arsenal.

Did you know Pennant abandoned his £98,000 Porsche at a railway station upon leaving Real Zaragoza for Stoke City?

Joey Barton

Joey Barton has been one of the unsung heroes for Newcastle this season, giving glimpses of brilliance and a reason why Mike Ashley paid a £5.8 million transfer fee. However, his career has been marred by two stints in prison.

In 2007, Barton was sentenced to six months imprisonment for assault and affray. He was captured on CCTV cameras punching a man 20 times, leaving him with broken teeth.

In 2008, Barton was sentenced to four months imprisonment for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He had punched teammate Ousmane Dabo from behind, clinched onto him and continued to punch him before being separated by teammates.

This wasn’t the first time Barton had attacked a teammate, as in 2004 he was fined £60,000 for putting a cigar in Jamie Tandy’s eye. Tandy never made the transition from academy to professional footballer and successfully sued Barton for £65,000.

Ironically, years later, Tandy would turn into the transgressor, as in 2010 he was given a suspended sentence for assaulting his wife. If you were curious, Tandy is currently a window cleaner.

One does wonder when Barton will again capture news headlines for another unsavoury antisocial act. One can only hope that Barton doesn’t end up like his brother, Michael, who is serving life behind bars for his part in the racially motivated murder of Anthony Walker.

Marlon King

From a Premier League perspective, Marlon King is mediocre at best. However, he is good enough to make a substantial living playing in The Championship. Though even with the bright economic opportunities, King has at times decided to live out his antisocial alter ego.

In 1997, as a Barnet trainee, King headbutted and punched an opponent, causing a fractured cheek and eye pocket. King was convicted of wounding and sentenced to 80 hours community service.

In 1999, having established a starting position at Barnet, King was convicted of theft from a person, theft from a car and two counts of fraudulent use of a vehicle licence document. He was fined £240.

In 2002, having scored 15 goals for Gillingham, King was convicted of drunk driving and driving without insurance. He was fined £650 and banned from driving for nine months. With total disregard for the law, four months later, he was caught receiving a stolen BMW Cabriolet. He pleaded not guilty but was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

In 2003, after Gillingham had continued to pay King’s salary whilst he was in jail, he was fined £1,600 for assaulting a female in an unprovoked attack.

In 2006, having been scoring goals for fun for Watford, King assaulted a female and then spat at her face. He was fined £300.

In 2009, with Wigan paying King £35,000 a week, he was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and sexual assault of a female.

The victim, 20-year-old and 5'0" tall Emily Carr, testified how King groped her, to which she rejected his advances. King then replied, "Don't you know who I am? I'm a millionaire. You're not even in my league." He then punched Carr in the face causing a broken nose, black eye and split lip.

Wigan chairman, Dave Whelan fired King and said, "I regret the day we ever signed Marlon King."

Currently, King is playing for Coventry City in The Championship. In 22 games, he has scored seven goals, at one point scoring five goals in six games. He has also received two straight red cards—evidence that he still cannot control his violent temper.

Lee Hughes

Having been relegated from the Premier League with West Bromwich Albion, Lee Hughes was sentenced to six years imprisonment in 2004 for causing death by dangerous driving.

Hughes had crashed his Mercedes into another car, causing the death of Douglas Graham, before fleeing the scene on foot. He turned himself in to police the following day.

With a prior conviction of driving under the influence, it is speculated that Hughes fled on foot to escape being caught under the influence again.

Currently, Hughes is playing for Notts County in League One and has scored 34 goals in 48 games.

Luke McCormick

Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick was sentenced to seven years and four months imprisonment in 2008 for causing deaths by dangerous driving whilst under the influence.

McCormick’s Range Rover collided with Philip Peak’s Toyota Previa, killing his two sons—10-year-old Aaron Peak and eight-year-old Ben Peak. Phillip suffered spinal and lung injuries and remains confined to a wheelchair.  

When breathalysed, McCormick was found to have 74 micrograms per 100ml of breath—the legal limit is 35 micrograms.

Currently, McCormick is serving his sentence in Channings Wood Prison. He’ll be eligible for parole in 2012.