...misbehaving being an understatent

Disgusting

Edited June 17, 201114 yr by quizzer

I think Vlad's saying the Scottish Mafia (i.e. the SFA, the courts, the media and pretty much everyone else he sees against Hearts, including, bizarrely, Gary Mackay as he tries to get the best deal for his clients despite supporting the club) are behind all this. That Black and Thomson are victims of some nefarious plot to discredit the club. So, the criminals are the SFA, media etc, the kids are his players. All complete nonsense of course. Pretty disgusting stuff. I hope the ICT and other fans do target Thomson. He just shouldn't be in the game after this.

That diatribe from Hearts is just . . . stunning, really. But standard fayre for the Motherland so no real surprise.

One thing though - Thomson will be at very real risk of injury at the start of the season as there are likely to be tackles that are less than savoury visited upon him. I would just hope that our players are not tempted to deal out any "natural justice" and damage our good name as result.

That would enhance our name in my opinion. I'd have no problem with it.

It's one thing the likes of Black or O'Connor being (allegedly) involved in recreational drugs use but.......

Thomson has been found guilty of (and pled guilty to) a serious offence. The nauseating excuse for an apology released by both Thomson and Hearts is breathtaking. Neither makes any reference to the victims or their families but mearly seeks to justify why he should be given another chance. Quite frankly, the most appalling piece of press I have ever read.

This is where we find out who are the good men and those who will stand by and do nothing, choosing to bury their heads in the sand. You can almost excuse Dundee Utd (officials, players and supporters) for the loyalty they have shown to Goodwillie. As yet he has been found guilty of nothing. This is a totally different situation. Can the Hearts management and staff sit back abd do or say nothing? Money does, on occassion, buy silence but should it be able to buy morality?

I'm waiting Messers Jefferies and Brown..........

I'd be pretty confident that there are senior officials at Hearts who would agree that the lack of action against Craig Thomson is a disgrace.

Burn him at the stake, or at least spray paint Pheado on the side of his house.

Pipe To Pipe Bushman.

If Hearts are not willing to do what's right then the SFA/SPL should intervene. They can't dictate who Hearts can or cannot employ directly, but as every player needs to be registered with these associations then they can revoke that registration and prevent him from ever stepping foot on the park again.

Failing that, ever other club should move to ban him from their grounds...which they could justifiably do on the grounds of it being the safest means by which to ensure he has no contact with any minors at our clubs.

Apparently the sicko Hearts player has released a statement in the last hour asking fans and wider public to support the club in their support of him. What a prize ****. Makes my blood boil. I actually hope he gets badly nailed by someone

read a few things today .......

biggest one for me was the article quoting Jefferies saying the player was going to get abuse and pretty much deserved it !!! Also talked about his battle to get back into the team and reading between the lines I would say that the player will not take to the pitch again if Jefferies has anything to do with it .....

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/3660885/Sex-shame-star-faces-fans-hatred.html

"Jefferies has told Thomson to brace himself for a bitter backlash from the terraces next season over his sordid web chats with two underage girls. But the Jambos gaffer knows the worst taunts will come from the Edinburgh side's OWN supporters, who are furious the player has not been sacked."

Jefferies said: "We have to make sure if he ever gets back in the team - and let's not forget there's competition for places - then how will he handle what's coming to him? We have to be sure because that's going to affect the performance of the rest of the players if it becomes a sideshow which gets out of hand."

I see tonight that MacB the water company have withdrawn their sponsorship of Hearts. To be honest I can't see this issue ending without either the player leaving (of his own accord or otherwise) or JJ leaving. Knowing how much Romanov likes to 'allegedly' pick his team, I can see the situation arising where Romanov tells JJ to pick Thompson and JJ refuses. Would I blame him? No.

yup Caleyjag - I would agree.

The article sounded like JJ (quite rightly) has no sympathy for what the player did and is basically stuck between a rock and a hard place. the Club "management" have decided to keep the player on but it would seem that the Team management (and some players) dont want that.

The solution .... seems that JJ will reluctantly hold on to him, but as the article suggests, is unlikely to let him anywhere near the 1st team.

I predict JJ will be gone by Xmas as his hand will be forced in the 'team selection' way you suggest. JJ is a principled man and I would like to think he would not give in to that particular 'edict' if it were issued so a resignation or sacking may follow .......

"Craig Thomson has been told to stay away from Hearts for the time being..."

Scotsman

His position as a high profile football player is totally untenable, his football days are over.

His best bet would be to restart his career abroad. (Perhaps in a country where his crimes don't even register on the depravity scale, like Belgium or Austria.)

BBC now reporting that the player has been suspended. Not by the testicles, but at least it seems that Hearts are recognising that they were initially too lenient.

I think the Lithuanians underestimated the severity of his crime int his country. Either way, I think Wonga probably threatened them - his face with Wonga on his chest under the sex offender headline, is hardly what they paid hundreds of thousands for...

Right decision. He was less than contrite, and probably expected to be carrying on as usual. You cant be a professional footballer, a job which which entails being in the public eye, being a role model and ambassador, a representative of a city, or part of a city, and to attract fans, and then be doing what he did. It doesnt matter what job of course, the act is no better or worse, however him stating that it was "a learning curve" was so off the mark, one questioned how much he took the crime seriously.

It's a sad enditement of the club that they had to lose sponsors and have schools pulling out of training days with them before they decided to buckle under the pressure and suspend him, they didn;t even cave in to public or media pressure, it all came down to money!!!

They should have done the decent thing and suspended him as soon as he was charged pending and internal enquiry and when he was found guilty he should have been sacked for gross misconduct and breaching his contract. lets face it if that had been any of us we would have been out of our employment before we even knew about it for the reasons above.

Romanov is nothing more than a wanna be dictator who has absolutely no values for himself, the club he runs nor the fans who have the club what they are today, he has basically spat in their face with his actions throughout this whole issue and tried to lay blame everywhere else rather than actually at the foot of the door of the player who has brought shame upon himself and the club.

Do the right thing Hearts and sack him, not that I like to see anyone lose their job, but on this occasion there is no option especially considering the circumstances leading to the circus that has followed.

It's a sad enditement of the club that they had to lose sponsors and have schools pulling out of training days with them before they decided to buckle under the pressure and suspend him, they didn;t even cave in to public or media pressure, it all came down to money!!!

They should have done the decent thing and suspended him as soon as he was charged pending and internal enquiry and when he was found guilty he should have been sacked for gross misconduct and breaching his contract. lets face it if that had been any of us we would have been out of our employment before we even knew about it for the reasons above.

Romanov is nothing more than a wanna be dictator who has absolutely no values for himself, the club he runs nor the fans who have the club what they are today, he has basically spat in their face with his actions throughout this whole issue and tried to lay blame everywhere else rather than actually at the foot of the door of the player who has brought shame upon himself and the club.

Do the right thing Hearts and sack him, not that I like to see anyone lose their job, but on this occasion there is no option especially considering the circumstances leading to the circus that has followed.

I agree that he should be suspended now pending an internal enquiry into his suitability to carry on in his position, given the fact the club are losing money through sponsorship and possible future fans due to the schools refusal to carry on with training days but the sherriff in the case stated that he was not considered a risk to children and imposed no restrictions on his working with children or vunerable adults. Also, there is a precident in law that everyone is innocent until proved guilty so if he was suspended when charged pending an internal inquiry and that inquiry forced his dismissal what would have happened if he had been found innocent? There are too many people with ill informed opinions ready to wreck careers. Public opinion, based on cherry picked facts and sensationalised journalism, is what has forced sponsors to withdraw. The legal expert who sat over the case decided on this man's ability to work with children but the tabloids, driven by sales, forced public opinion to drive him out of his career.

It's a sad enditement of the club that they had to lose sponsors and have schools pulling out of training days with them before they decided to buckle under the pressure and suspend him, they didn;t even cave in to public or media pressure, it all came down to money!!!

They should have done the decent thing and suspended him as soon as he was charged pending and internal enquiry and when he was found guilty he should have been sacked for gross misconduct and breaching his contract. lets face it if that had been any of us we would have been out of our employment before we even knew about it for the reasons above.

Romanov is nothing more than a wanna be dictator who has absolutely no values for himself, the club he runs nor the fans who have the club what they are today, he has basically spat in their face with his actions throughout this whole issue and tried to lay blame everywhere else rather than actually at the foot of the door of the player who has brought shame upon himself and the club.

Do the right thing Hearts and sack him, not that I like to see anyone lose their job, but on this occasion there is no option especially considering the circumstances leading to the circus that has followed.

I agree that he should be suspended now pending an internal enquiry into his suitability to carry on in his position, given the fact the club are losing money through sponsorship and possible future fans due to the schools refusal to carry on with training days but the sherriff in the case stated that he was not considered a risk to children and imposed no restrictions on his working with children or vunerable adults. Also, there is a precident in law that everyone is innocent until proved guilty so if he was suspended when charged pending an internal inquiry and that inquiry forced his dismissal what would have happened if he had been found innocent? There are too many people with ill informed opinions ready to wreck careers. Public opinion, based on cherry picked facts and sensationalised journalism, is what has forced sponsors to withdraw. The legal expert who sat over the case decided on this man's ability to work with children but the tabloids, driven by sales, forced public opinion to drive him out of his career.

Normally quite sympathetic to the viewpoint that tabloid journalism is an irresponsible vehicle that causes harm. Not in this case. As far as I'm concerned we have much to thank the "rags" for as they contributed significantly to having the abuser removed.

As for the issue of legal fact, it is quite clear to me that the accused plead guilty to the charges that are well documented in the public domain. The judge punished accordingly and deem it necessary to place the guilty party on the SOR for a period of at least five years. For me, the case is quite clear: Charge, admission, guilt, punishment. No grey area for the tabloids to be allowed to manipulate, only public outrage at the stance and arrogance of both the guilty party and his employers. The tabloids have been the vehicle for this to be aired, not the driver.

It appears that further cases are now being investigated with the likelihood of new charges a possibility. Are they down to the tabloids giving victims the confidence to come forward?

I have not read the full judgement but will. If, as is suggested the judge has deemed him worthy of continuing to be in contact with children I will, as a parent of four, be very disappointed. If I thought, at any stage in their developing life, that my children were to be in contact with such an individual as the guilty party I would have them removed. No debate, no discussion, out. Suggest most parents feel exactly the same.

I have no sympathy for Thomson. If his career is over, I suggest he looks in a mirror and he will clearly see the person who is responsible.

Edited July 1, 201114 yr by Sorted

This is all local to us down here. He went to our school and some of our girls were involved or knew the ones who were. Jefferies was furious with him when it broke last year and he sent the player down to England to take the heat off. I suspect Jefferies didn't want him back and as somebody mentioned, his principles will come into play sooner or later.

He went to our school

I had a recollection that he had.

I take he's been removed from the wall display of "famous ex-pupils" and won't be invited back to present the prizes at sports day etc?

All opinions are valid and to suggest otherwise is folly. Mob rule can sometimes be for the good as I believe it is in this case.

I didn't realise that you had to have a degree in law to have an opinion worthy of consideration on a judgement. Just yesterday I was asked, by a firm of solicitors, to give an opinion on what a judgement meant operationally regarding a patent being pursued. The worth and merit of that opinion can then be discussed by those suitably qualified but the fact that it was requested must mean it has some value? If we follow your logic then, for example, only dentists should have opinions on teeth, sommeliers opinions on wine, parents opinions on children and, dare I say it, qualified coaches opinions on football. Interesting world you live in eh?

For the record, any opinion you have has, in my opinion, some worth. It's good to have opinions but, more importantly the substance to back up what your opinion is based on.

My opinion in this case is based on the flow of information within the public domain through all forms (and qualities) of media with particular attention being paid to the views of organisations such as Children 1st and the clear admission of guilt by Thomson. Taking this all into account and my natural instinct to protect my own as much as possible, I form the opinion I express above.

What is your opinion based on?

I look daft now............but (honestly ) the post I replied to has gone!

The post you replied to was removed because it never brought anything to the discussion and was little more than a cheap swipe, sorry.

But the point is, Thomson's position was not youth coach, it was not a position which required him to have access to children at all. He would be of no risk to your children or any other children for that matter, in the course of his position at HMFC. The man has made a mistake and been punished for it. His punishment was imposed by a sheriff who through years of study of law and with ALL of the facts at disposal decided that the punishment did not require restriction on Thomson's movement in the proximity of children or contact with children.

Employment law states that conviction of a crime should not be used for disciplinary procedures unless it has an effect on the ability to perform a job or has an adverse effect on the employer's business. There was no adverse effect on HMFC's business until sensastionalised journalism made easily influenced persons such as yourself rise up in mock outrage.

Your kids would never have been in danger but now Thomson is unlikely to get his job back, he is unlikely to gain employment and has the next five years to spend mulling over his predicament, letting his mind run in overdrive and then disappear from the radar of all watching him, to god knows where, with god knows how many twisted thoughts running through his head for five years. Who knows he might even decide to move away from the community, which has ostrasised him, next door to you and you would never know.

Maybe better to keep him busy, keep him active and work with him to change his ways. He was a stupid wee boy when he commited these offenses, he could have grown up into a footballer but now he is more likely to grow into a bitter twisted young adult.

Edited July 1, 201114 yr by marks