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Well this news has somewhat divided people with what the club should do. I think we can all agree that Calders actions are inexcusable and need to be punished accordingly. I am a firm believer of the innocent until proven guilty mindset so I am glad the club continued playing him until there was a firm verdict. However, a guilty verdict is damning and think the club has made the correct decision to let him go, there was no other choice! There is no excuse for his actions but people can change and hopefully Calder receives help to change whatever his punishment may be. He is only young and deserves a 2nd chance but must be punished for his outrageous actions 1st!

While I agree that the club has acted appropriately and as quickly as it could, some of the intolerance shown to posters who dared to have a different viewpoint is depressing. It seems to be the way today that tolerance of different views is not permitted.

9-2 win against Fife Elite this evening. The youngsters are dishing out some hammerings this season. Hopefully see a few more of this crop in the 1st team soon enough.

You really don't see any difference between a drunken scuffle and subjecting a woman to a sustained violent attack that also involved beating her with a shoe? Stop the world, I want to get off!!

See you in the Craven Arms Gringo but what train are you catching ?

Update from Barry Wilson

not as serious as this

It's not a reprisal it's a proportionate and reasonable response to disgraceful conduct on the part of the player. We have had players who have committed criminal acts in the past and retained their jobs with the club, Richies Hart and Foran come to mind. However, I can't recall any other player committing such a serious offence as this.

I agree. In this instance, the club have acted entirely properly. Credit where it's due.

I think you've answered your own question there. The club will have likely known about the charge but won't have been required to take action until the verdict (innocent until proven guilty as you say) and therefore weren't going to be saying anything unless they had to. Once that verdict was known they've acted accordingly and informed the fans in a timely fashion.

A sad way to end his time at ICT but, after the conviction, the end result was inevitable and correct. The club were left with no alternative and no one is to blame other than the player himself. Personally, I would have been inclined to suspend him and wait for the sentencing hearing before dismissing him but I am not going to criticise the club for acting quickly and decisively since the end result was in little doubt. I don't think that he could have remained at ICT but I do believe in rehabilitation where appropriate and, while I think that any finding of rape or sexual assault should, quite properly be career ending for a professional footballer among numerous other professions, I think that this case, serious as it is, does allow for him to try to rebuild his career elsewhere. That said, he has to be punished first and to demonstrate a clear understanding of just how wrong his conduct was and to display genuine remorse.

I could see a scenario where we do quite properly stand by a player convicted of assault. For example, if someone is perhaps assaulted in the street and lashes out once in retaliation. However, subject to anything new that emerges at the sentencing hearing, Calder's actions appear to be much too serious for us to take that view. It should be noted that the Magistrates Court that heard the case referred the matter to the Crown Court for sentencing which suggests that they view it as too serious a matter to continue to be dealt with at Magistrates Court level.

I don't always agree with the current regime but I think that the club are right to wait until the sentencing before finalising their position. However, having pled guilty to such conduct, I do think that he should be suspended in the meantime.

Tbh, that does bring up an interesting point. Richie had been involved in a few punch ups while at ICT, one being understandably for sectarian abuse against him and Doran from some drunkards, and another for something or other, and hell, he ended up keeping his place and eventually managing the team (albeit terribly). Aaron Doran and Danny Devine (and another bloke, who was unnamed), also done in with the police over an incident which the police still haven't disclosed to the public, despite it being over 4 years on, and slapped with 40 quid fines. I am definitely not saying what Ricky did was a good idea (firmly admit that karma gets back to you), but how come he got booted out of the club for clobbering someone (which the rest of these guys had done, some occasions they were a tad drunk), yet the rest managed to keep their contracts and get away with minimal repercussions (i.e. cuffs slapped on them then hauled to court and let off with fines/suspended jail sentence (which I believe was the case in Foran's first punch up))? I guess, in a way, it's to teach younger fans a lesson "Don't be an idiot and start punching people, just cos your car got slightly dented", but surely if that was the case, then Foran, Doran and Devine would've been kicked out to teach the younger fans a lesson of "Don't start fights in public"...

Apologies to any vultures who did not appreciate the sarcasm and in their usual warped manner of thinking even considered that the said sarcasm included any reference to the victim of the crime. Still I suppose if you cant have a pop at the Board you have to find another victim to prey on. ?

Gutted bout Calder what a clown defo 1 of our better players but can't have a woman beater on the pitch eh least it was only squaddies Foran hammered !