Craig thomson

[pacoluna]

Edinburgh City have signed him believing he has completed his rehabilitation.

[Northernhibee]

It's a tough one. The prospect of rehabilitation is a fundamental part of our justice and penal system and is an important part in reintroducing offenders into society.

I'd still not be happy if he signed for my club.

[Billychaotic182]

Wouldn't like watching him play for my club. And if I had a young daughter I'd definitely not want him near my club. Big gamble

[silverhibee]

Fans of Edinburgh City are already demanding a refund for season tickets they bought, this isn't a gamble, it's f***ing suicide by a family club who are just new to the leagues, they will lose support and be hated by every club in there league, folk can say he has done his time and should be able to get on with life, but FFS he was convicted of grooming minors over a period of time, had he not been caught it may have led to more serious crimes against minors, these folk can never be fully trusted again in life.

Goes against what Jefferies said about him when the incident happened. "you never return from something like that"

[calumhibee1]

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Fans of Edinburgh City are already demanding a refund for season tickets they bought, this isn't a gamble, it's f***ing suicide by a family club who are just new to the leagues, they will lose support and be hated by every club in there league, folk can say he has done his time and should be able to get on with life, but FFS he was convicted of grooming minors over a period of time, had he not been caught it may have led to more serious crimes against minors, these folk can never be fully trusted again in life.

Goes against what Jefferies said about him when the incident happened. "you never return from something like that"

This. I'd hoped Edinburgh City would do well when they got into the leagues, now I hope they get relegated and sink without a trace. One of the biggest youth sections in Edinburgh/Scottish youth football and they've employed a guy who was grooming a 12 year old family friend? Unbelievable. Hell mend them.

[cabbageandribs1875]

one can only assume the sporting director at Edinburgh City is involved in hiring the player....










but as some have said, he surely has to get a chance in life again

[SirDavidsNapper]

If Thomson had an ounce of decency in him he'd have retired from football all together so as to not put others in a position where they feel awkward about who they bring along to games out of principle. Pretty selfish on his part and shows the kind of character he is. If Hibs had employed him (hypothetically) I'd be seriously unhappy and wouldn't be taking my daughter rehabilitated or not. In fact I don't think I'd go along myself.

[heretoday]

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It's a tough one. The prospect of rehabilitation is a fundamental part of our justice and penal system and is an important part in reintroducing offenders into society.

I'd still not be happy if he signed for my club.

My thoughts too.

[Greencore]

BEAST!!!!

Used to have a wee soft spot for them. Not anymore. Hope they get relegated.

[Humo]

Just signed for Edinburgh city. Just lost a lot of respect for that club.

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/footba...mson-1-4493903

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[cabbageandribs1875]

http://www.hibs.net/showthread.php?322617-Craig-thomson



:)

[Viva_Palmeiras]

Already covered

[Deansy]

Romanov's actions over Thomson have played a big part in this - he didn't exactly boot Thomson out of the door did he ?. If anything, he fought tooth and nail to hold onto him !
This sent out a message as if to say - 'Look, he's not that bad, he's young/foolish, was just a big mistake' etc, etc. Fortunately there's a very tiny % of their fans who are almost decent and they more or less forced Romanov's hand. !.


Unsurprisingly, 'The Scotsman' article on it has no forum - yet anything that remotely paints Hibs in a bad light and it's open-season !

[Forza Fred]

This has been a risky signing by Edinburgh City.

[GoalsMcGinley]

Shocker from City. Already know of a few who won't go back while he or anyone involved in his signing are there.


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[El Gubbz]

Not the worst Craig Thomson in Scottish football

[easty]

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Not the worst Craig Thomson in Scottish football

Aye he is.

[Pretty Boy]

Is there a list of jobs, sports and pastimes anywhere that it is acceptable for criminals to do after they have served their sentence?

Much as I think Craig Thomsons actions were despicable he's going to be playing part time football for Edinburgh City, not living the high life at Barcelona. Is training a couple of times a week and playing on a Saturday endangering children? Does anyone look at Edinburgh City players as role models?

There are obvious reasons why someone like Thomson shouldn't directly work with children. If playing for Edinburgh City is causing a fuss though then it pretty much rules him out of even amateur football.

Tin hat on as I'm aware 'burn the witch' is the only correct response here.

[Geo_1875]

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Is there a list of jobs, sports and pastimes anywhere that it is acceptable for criminals to do after they have served their sentence?

Much as I think Craig Thomsons actions were despicable he's going to be playing part time football for Edinburgh City, not living the high life at Barcelona. Is training a couple of times a week and playing on a Saturday endangering children? Does anyone look at Edinburgh City players as role models?

There are obvious reasons why someone like Thomson shouldn't directly work with children. If playing for Edinburgh City is causing a fuss though then it pretty much rules him out of even amateur football.

Tin hat on as I'm aware 'burn the witch' is the only correct response here.

I agree. How do you rehabilitate someone by forcing them out of work?

[hibee316]

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Not the worst Craig Thomson in Scottish football

Weird comment.

[CentreLine]

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Is there a list of jobs, sports and pastimes anywhere that it is acceptable for criminals to do after they have served their sentence?

Much as I think Craig Thomsons actions were despicable he's going to be playing part time football for Edinburgh City, not living the high life at Barcelona. Is training a couple of times a week and playing on a Saturday endangering children? Does anyone look at Edinburgh City players as role models?

There are obvious reasons why someone like Thomson shouldn't directly work with children. If playing for Edinburgh City is causing a fuss though then it pretty much rules him out of even amateur football.

Tin hat on as I'm aware 'burn the witch' is the only correct response here.

I have to agree with your sentiments. Mob rule is only a heartbeat away even in fairly settled society. The mob mentlity has become more and more apparent with social media and any cause is going to gain popular support. "Burn the witch" is a perfect description for where it's going and it is not healthy.
That is by no means a defense of what the despicable wee git got up to but a comment on the mob mentality that social media can bring to the fore.
Rehabilitation is what our criminal justice system is supposed to promote. Perhaps we could all do with a wee reminder of that. Despicable or not, if he has done his time then that's hiw our system works. Everybody knows to give him a wide berth where it comes to children but lynchings hopefully are a thing of the past.

[neil7908]

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Is there a list of jobs, sports and pastimes anywhere that it is acceptable for criminals to do after they have served their sentence?

Much as I think Craig Thomsons actions were despicable he's going to be playing part time football for Edinburgh City, not living the high life at Barcelona. Is training a couple of times a week and playing on a Saturday endangering children? Does anyone look at Edinburgh City players as role models?

There are obvious reasons why someone like Thomson shouldn't directly work with children. If playing for Edinburgh City is causing a fuss though then it pretty much rules him out of even amateur football.

Tin hat on as I'm aware 'burn the witch' is the only correct response here.

I agree with this. It's clearly a very emotionally charged issue and maybe I'd feel differently if I had kids but I think given the level he's playing at as you've suggested and the fact that I'm sure he'll be kept well away from children then it's right that he's given the chance to rebuild his life.

Having said that, I'm not sure how'd I'd feel if another player with his history joined us. I don't think I'd boycott the club but I'd find it incredibly hard cheering him on if he scored a goal, made a great tackle etc.

[calumhibee1]

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Is there a list of jobs, sports and pastimes anywhere that it is acceptable for criminals to do after they have served their sentence?

Much as I think Craig Thomsons actions were despicable he's going to be playing part time football for Edinburgh City, not living the high life at Barcelona. Is training a couple of times a week and playing on a Saturday endangering children? Does anyone look at Edinburgh City players as role models?

There are obvious reasons why someone like Thomson shouldn't directly work with children. If playing for Edinburgh City is causing a fuss though then it pretty much rules him out of even amateur football.

Tin hat on as I'm aware 'burn the witch' is the only correct response here.

I actually don't disagree with any of this, however I still find it hard to want anything other than Edinburgh City to fail if they're going to have someone like him playing for them.

What I find incredible is the amount of people on the Evening News comments etc telling people how he's an amazing guy and there's two sides to the story that we (or presumably the jury that reached his verdict) don't know about. Basically victim blaming a 12 year old lassie.

[lucky]

Bad decision by EC. Whilst every criminal has the right to rehabilitation and a fresh start this guy could easily done that out of the public eye. He's not making a living playing for them. He could easily be playing football at amateur and no one would have cared publicly. EC are getting publicity they won't want and don't need

[El Gubbz]

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Weird comment.

From what I remember at the time he met 2 girls online who led him to believe they where over 16? I don't think he actually met up with them like Adam Johnson did he just text them? Happy to be corrected on that though.

[Pretty Boy]

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Bad decision by EC. Whilst every criminal has the right to rehabilitation and a fresh start this guy could easily done that out of the public eye. He's not making a living playing for them. He could easily be playing football at amateur and no one would have cared publicly. EC are getting publicity they won't want and don't need

Shortly after his conviction Thomson took a job as a window cleaner. An honest, manual, low profile job. The Sun done a total hatchet job on him. He looked 'unkempt', his hair 'neede cut', he was carrying his shopping in a 'grubby Tesco bag'. He also got gried from them when he was playing junior football. He crops up in the rags every so often for trivial things even though, as far as I'm aware, he hasn't committed any further crimes in 7 years.

I really don't want to sound like an apologist for the guy but if he's going to get hounded anyway he's probably thought '**** it' and got back into league football.

[Pretty Boy]

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From what I remember at the time he met 2 girls online who led him to believe they where over 16? I don't think he actually met up with them like Adam Johnson did he just text them? Happy to be corrected on that though.

He knew their age.

[ian cruise]

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From what I remember at the time he met 2 girls online who led him to believe they where over 16? I don't think he actually met up with them like Adam Johnson did he just text them? Happy to be corrected on that though.

No, it was a family friend and he admitted he knew what age they were. It's all pretty despicable however as others have stated, he also has to continue his life so its a very difficult situation for all. To continue to make him an outcast heightens risk of future offences rather than giving him a chance to prove he's a changed person. However given the circumstances the authorities have a responsibility to monitor his actions very closely. It's a difficult topic but I have to side on the let's not follow the mob mentality, burn the witch approach, as hard as it may be.

[easty]

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Is there a list of jobs, sports and pastimes anywhere that it is acceptable for criminals to do after they have served their sentence?

Much as I think Craig Thomsons actions were despicable he's going to be playing part time football for Edinburgh City, not living the high life at Barcelona. Is training a couple of times a week and playing on a Saturday endangering children? Does anyone look at Edinburgh City players as role models?

There are obvious reasons why someone like Thomson shouldn't directly work with children. If playing for Edinburgh City is causing a fuss though then it pretty much rules him out of even amateur football.

Tin hat on as I'm aware 'burn the witch' is the only correct response here.

I'm glad he's rehabilitated and that hasn't done it again, but he wasn't fair when he was grooming, I've nae intention of being fair now.

Rehabilitation isn't exoneration. **** him, any grief he's getting now he's brought on himself.

[Big_Franck]

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From what I remember at the time he met 2 girls online who led him to believe they where over 16? I don't think he actually met up with them like Adam Johnson did he just text them? Happy to be corrected on that though.

He knew how old they were as they were the daughters of family friends IIRC. I'm sure they were 10 and 12 years old and his beast like behaviour went on for months. If Hibs signed someone like that I'd hand back my season ticket the same day.