Richie.......

[maimie]

pled guilty today and received a ?300 fine for possession of cocaine.  not too sure of all the details yet but the judge accepted that it was a one off and an error of judgement.  i'm sure this has been a big lesson for him - one that will never be repeated.

i for one hope the club stand by him....

[TSTtiger]

yeah dont see why the club shouldn't stand by him. we all make mistakes. :32: a yellows just fine i reckon

[Guest Glen Mhor]

Aye, the person who hasn't made a mistake in his or her life hasn't been born yet.

Close the door on this one, look to the future and just get on with life.

[Scotty]

He has made a mistake in his personal life and accepted the consequences of that.

As a professional footballer there will be (and has been) more coverage of this in the media than there would have been had it been one of us who had done it, and even though you could argue that the club's name has been brought it into disrepute, I would whole-hart-edly agree with the other posters who say give the lad a yellow card, and then some support. He has been through quite enough already and it would be wrong for the club or the supporters to kick him while he is down.

[Scarlet Pimple]

This is a no-brainer. There but for the grace of God go I!

And I don't agree with the opinion that he brought the club into disrepute. After all, this is his personal life, and all he hurt was himself.

He did not slander the club or anyone in it, he did not steal or rob the club of anything.And  his standard of football does not show any significant reduction does it in which case surely he is giving the club value for his wages?

He admitted the default honestly and faced up to the consequences. Good man

Currently, 100% support until further notice.  :022:

[gordyfromsneck]

yeah dont see why the club shouldn't stand by him. we all make mistakes. :32: a yellows just fine i reckon

Fair do's. I think the club should stand by him, but I think that they shoud be seen to offer him support too. There is mileage to be made of his going in to a support group or whatever. This will pay dividends for Ritchie, and the club in the eyes of the rest of Scotland. Other drug users, whose habit is a bit further on than RHs will be made aware of the existance of these services and may seek help. Other clubs in Scotland may seek a similar route for their straying players and supporters.

Drugs are a big problem in Scotland, behind a lot of crime, and the club should be doing all it can to strip them of any glamour.

I am a big fan of RH and hope that he will continue at the club, but he is also a role model, and the club should be seen to address this.

[RiG]

[Pedant Alert]Is it not Richie Hart?[/Pedant Alert]

[absent friend]

''He did not slander the club or anyone in it, he did not steal or rob the club of anything.And  his standard of football does not show any significant reduction does it in which case surely he is giving the club value for his wages?''

You're having a laugh, I think!

He robbed the club of the clean cut image we enjoyed and he was a role model. (Wait until he plays and listen to the opposition support, when he is on the ball and tell me this is what you want to hear directed at ICT players)

He robbed the club of his value as a player (whatever his transfer value was has now been reduced - clubs waiting to sign him, don't be daft!)

He robbed the club of the innocence of the young(boys and girls at a very young age may be subjected to references to drugs whenever he plays and a football game does not need that)

I also feel that the club will be subject to drugs testing in a less random way, to establish if there is a drugs scene within the squad.

To sum up - give the boy a chance, give him support BUT don't underestimate the harm he has done to the club, by his actions!!

[Yngwie]

I would hope and expect that he gets some kind of punishment from the club,

but I would also hope and expect that to remain private, and that he also gets support.

[Tug]

Fair play to Richie he has put his hands up and said  " ok i did wrong....... :029:"

but as several people have said this was in his private life, unfortunately in this day and age the private lifes of public figures appear to be less private and more public domain. to this end i think the club should be seen as doing something, not nessecarrily booting him out but even just talking to local kids or doing some voluntry work somewhere. at least then the club can be seen to be taking a stance of he knows he was in the wrong and he hasnt got away with it.

as for the opposition fans i fully expect once he gets back on the park he will be hammered with chants/taunts but i hope he responds by sticking 5 or 6 goals in there net to shut them up .................................................. just as long as we dont get any Robbie Fowler celebrations please Richie :023:

[kencar]

From BBC Website.....

In a statement, the SPL club said the player has been suspended from training and playing until further notice.

It went on: "When the matter was originally brought to our attention, the club interviewed the player and given his responses agreed to leave the matter until the allegations were addressed in court.

"The club would like to reassure the club's commercial partners, supporters and the public that the club adopts a very firm stance in relation to the use and/or possession of drugs."

FULL STORY

[caley100]

Well that does not sound good for Richie, the club have stated their position and that looks like the end of Mr Hart and ICT.  :007:

I would presume that the clubs firm stance will be no tolerance to drug use by any employee, so it would seem they dont have much choice in this matter.

[Yngwie]

The club statement seems to suggest that Hart had assured them he was innocent.

[CaleyD]

I don't think the kid gloves treatment sends a positive message to anyone - either the player or those he may influence.

People have to realise that with certain actions comes certain consequences and sending out the message that it's ok to take drugs once because your employer and all around you will forgive you and lavish you with help to get you sorted out isn't helping anyone.

When the rumours originally broke it was understood that the cocaine was not in his car for his own use/consumption and that he was merely a victim of circumstance and they belonged to someone else.  That is clearly not the case now that more of the facts are out there.

I also don't buy all this talk about it being something that happened in his private life...blah blah blah.  He was sitting in his car in a public place when he was caught red handed...nothing at all private about that.  Furthermore, certain jobs carry certain expectations (and indeed contractual obligations) about the public image that must be maintained and that comes with the territory when your a Professional Footballer.

ICT (or any club for that matter) should not be seen to condone or support such actions in any way, shape or form and should take action accordingly.  If the club can find some way of doing that and keeping him at the club, then fair enough, but all this talk of parading him around as some kind of reformed addict who is going to educate people by showing them the error of his ways will serve no purpose whatsoever.  I'm all for giving people a second chance, but I'm 100% against turning this in to some kind of circus act - Punish/Sack him and move on.

[ymip]

Certainly not the smartest move for a professional sportsman to be dabbling with the old colombian marching powder. 

I think the hand wringing of a few folk on here is over the top and hope that this incident doesn't kybosh Richie's playing career. 

 

There can't be many folk in this day and age who haven't experimented at some point in their life with some form of recreational substance.  It's difficult for these young guys with a lot of free time and relatively good wages to constantly say no when all around them folk are partaking. 

My main hope is that this sends out a warning to the rest of the playing staff that their off the pitch behaviour is constantly under the microscope in a place like Inverness. 

[ElderBoy]

as with other professional footballers in the past that have taken drugs or been in possession of drugs i reckon he may get released. e.g mutu at chelsea :33: :33: :019: :019: :018: :018:

[Yngwie]

Whether it be by a tough stance from the club, or the player's wish to move on and make a fresh start, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we have seen the last of him.

The fact that he is very much a fringe player these days could make it an easy decision for either party.

[tm4tj]

I would have thought that with Brews clean cut health image that maybe Mr Hart will now be surplus to requirements.  No one else to blame for this.  It's a tough old life out there.  I always liked Harts style and aggression driving through the middle of the park and ferocious shot at the end, rarely on target but it always raised your hopes. 

Shame Richie, but I am sure you would have had a fair idea what the consequences would be.  Maybe some other club would be interested but my bet is ICT will say cheerio, and you could have no complaints if that is the answer.

:009:

[Guest TinCanFan]

This wally has now given ICT a bad name and if I was CB I'd give him the boot right now.

[Glebeict]

  It is all very sad really. I just hope mr Hart can stay away from that stuff from now on . I do think he should get a second chance from

    ICT but not a Thrid.

[+Gringo]

Richie Hart is no teenager who can be easily led, he is a 'responsible' adult and must have known full well what the consequences would be regarding the possession of this substance. I dare say that within his contract of employment there would be a statement within it regarding this type of thing and what the consequences of such possession/use will be. Fact remains he has done wrong knowing full well what the possible outcome will be. Sorry, RH, I have no sympathy.

[dead_ball_specialist]

It's supposed to be a free country isn't it? Ritchie hasn't harmed anybody here.

His personal life is his own. The only way it should affect his contract is if the gaffer feels it's affecting his performance on the park.

I don't buy into any of the 'role model' arguments. When I was a kid I wouldn't have been swayed to take A class drugs just because I read in the Courier that a Caley player did.  :017:. And there are other ICT players who aren't exactly role models - and whose allged mideeds weren't so victimless.

Coke is quite a mainstream drug in Inverness now. I know people from all walks of life who use it. You see people taking it or asking for it in pubs and clubs every weekend. While we aren't exactly Leith, Inverness does have a problem with increasing drug use and abuse.

I don't think it'd be fair to scapegoat Ritchie Hart. He wasn't dealing the stuff, he was using it. How would any of you feel about losing your job just because you were caught taking a recreational substance at Rock Ness? There were ALOT of people doing the same thing. I would also be suprised if he's the only ICT player to have ever dabbled.

I say he deserves a chance to redeem himself. I've always considered him to be one of our better players. A bit of a poser, and perhaps not the most well liked off the park - but still someone who can do a job for us, and perhaps someone who can use this experience to do some good by using his public platform to proclaim the error of his former ways, and set an example by going on to achieve success now that he's 'clean'.

[Scotty]

I also don't buy all this talk about it being something that happened in his private life...blah blah blah.  He was sitting in his car in a public place when he was caught red handed...nothing at all private about that. 

If you are referring to my comment, I said personal life not private life. We have seen that players dont have a private life !

I like Richie Hart as a player, I still think he has a lot to offer the club, and I initially didnt think he needed to be kicked out for this mistake. However, after reading various online accounts from papers/media, I am no longer quite as sure and to be really honest, I would not like to be the person who has to make the final decision as I am changing my mind from support to sacking and back again every few minutes.

Why am I swithering ? I guess its because at the time of the arrest, the impression was given that there was no case to answer and it was actually a case of "wrong place, wrong time". The club wisely supported him through that period, presumably thinking he might be exonerated but reading some of the reports online from various sources since yesterday, especially those that mention CDs and credit cards, it now seems that exoneration was never an option and much wool may have been been pulled over eyes and ears that wanted to believe.

Reading between the lines of the club statement, it seems the decision may already be made and its just i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed .....

When the matter was originally brought to our attention, the club interviewed the player and given his responses agreed to leave the matter until the allegations were addressed in court. The club would like to reassure the club's commercial partners, supporters and the public that the club adopts a very firm stance in relation to the use and/or possession of drugs.

[CaleyD]

Wasn't referring to any comment in particular and you can swap private for personal in my comment and I still stand by it.  We have all done/do stuff in our personal/private life that we wouldn't necessarily want made public.  If he wanted to brush up on his cocaine preparation technique then sitting in a car in a public car park wasn't the wisest of places to do it...so whether or not you describe it as personal or private, he was the one who made it public.

[Mrs Pauliebee]

Just my own personal tuppence worth...

- Admission of guilt could be to sped things up and save the club anymore embarrassment?

- I went to school with Ritchie, he was in the year below me, he certainly wasn't a "druggie"

and I believe his only mistake was trusting people, who I believe are the real culprits that he has taken the fall for.

- I can see why the club have suspended him, but I do hope he is re-instated and pulls on a ICT Shirt again.

He's paid the price for others - let him get on with his footie.

This "tarnishing the good name of ICT" is an absolute load of BullSh*t - look at other "rebels"...previous managers perhaps?  Who did far more to "disgrace" the club than Ritchie ever has.

Some people on this board really need to grow the F*ck up!  :008: :008: :008:

Mrs PB