A Former Newcastle United player has been banned from every football stadium in the country for three years.
The order came after an incident between the former midfielder and other fans, which happened at the iconic St James Park stadium.
It will be a bitter blow to the former midfielder as the country gears up for the Euros, the World Cup and the FA Cup later this year.
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Andy Ferrell was just eighteen when he signed with the Newcastle United youth academy back in 2002, with his contract being awarded to him by Sir Bobby Robson.
Whilst the midfielder initially showed promise, the teen never made it to the senior squad and was released from his contract with the Magpies just two years later.
Despite having trained with the Premier League club, and the likes of Alan Shearer, he would spend only a year at Watford FC before moving to National League teams such as York City.
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Ferrell would also play at Hereford United, Kidderminster Harriers and Blyth Spartans, but he struggled to reach the same high as the youth team.
Having played football for the majority of his life, the 39-year-old has now found himself banned from every club in the country.
According to The Daily Star, Ferrell was involved in an incident close to St James’ Park, which saw the former athlete clash with Chelsea supporters at a local pub.
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The ban will be enforced for three years, as this is not the first time the midfielder has found himself on the wrong side of the law.
In 2013, Ferrell was jailed for four years after being arrested for conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs.
However, the footballer insists that he has tried to turn his life around since then.
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In an interview with The Chronicle, he told the local paper: "I'm not a criminal, I'm just a normal lad. I got caught up in that and now it's something I have got to live with.”
Though he did admit that he’d ‘thrown everything away', the midfielder said that he was keen to get his ‘life back on track’.
He also said that he would support the Magpies forever more.
"Until the day I die, Newcastle United and football will be my life,” he told the paper, adding: “I had always been a fan and a season ticket holder, so I was living every Geordie’s dream.”
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The 39-year-old confessed that playing professionally was an ‘an absolute dream come true’, and said that he was one of the ‘fortune ones’ despite never making the senior team.
He said: “I was a normal lad from a council estate in Newcastle who was training with Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy, and Bobby Robson was my boss."
Topics: Sport, Football, UK News, Crime, True Crime
Katherine Sidnell