James Cotterill

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James Cotterill
Personal information
Date of birth August 3, 1982 (1982-08-03) (age 25)
Place of birth    Barnsley, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position Central Defender
Club information
Current club Ossett Town
Number Numbering system not in use
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2000-2003
2003-2006
2007-		 Scunthorpe United
Barrow
Ossett Town		 23 (0)
   

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 19:19, 1 March 2007 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

James Cotterill (born Barnsley, England, 3 August 1982) is a former professional footballer. He plays as a central defender for semi-professional UniBond League side Ossett Town.

[edit] Footballing career

He began his career at Scunthorpe United, and was released in 2003 after making 24 appearances for the first team. Following this, Cotterill joined Barrow in August 2003, where he remained until December 2006. He made 115 appearances in all competitions for Barrow.[1]

On 11 November 2006, during an FA Cup first round match between Barrow and Bristol Rovers, Cotterill was involved in an off the ball incident with Rovers player Sean Rigg. Cotterill was seen to punch Rigg in the face, leaving him with a double fracture of the jaw,[2] which was screened later that evening on Match of the Day. After the incident, Rigg was only able to eat with a teaspoon and drink through a straw, and his treatment involved the insertion of two metal plates into his jaw, which will remain permanently.[3] Cotterill was banned from all football activity by The FA until March 2007,[4] and on 11 January 2007 he was jailed for four months after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.[3] An appeal to free Cotterill had failed,[5] however, he was soon released from prison on 14 February 2007[6] although he was forced to wear an electronic tag in his home town Barnsley until 11 March 2007. Hoping to re-build his life, Cotterill also thanked the Barrow fans who helped release him.[7] Cotterill also apologized to Sean Rigg saying he "never intended to hurt Sean".[8]

On March 1, 2007, two weeks after his release from prison, Cotterill joined UniBond League side Ossett Town.[9]

[edit] Criticism of sentencing

After Cotterill's sentence had been passed, Barrow players past and present were shocked at the severity of the punisment, and Barrow's chairman Brian Keen said that he was "made an example of."[10] Barrow fans have suggested that that Cotterill has been made a scapegoat, due to the fact the Match of the Day cameras were there, and Barrow fan Anthony Prior, who was at the Bristol Rovers match, says that "It happens every week in the Premiership.", he also said that Cotterill was made a scapegoat because he was on the TV. Another fan said that Ben Thatcher's elbow charge was just as bad, if not worse than Cotterill's assault.[11]

[edit] References

James Cotterill's career stats at Soccerbase

  1. ^ James Cotterill player profile from the Barrow official website. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
  2. ^ Barrow launch probe into punch from BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
  3. ^ a b FA Cup assault footballer jailed from BBC News. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
  4. ^ Cotterill suspended from thefa.com. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
  5. ^ Booted Out from North West Evening Mail. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  6. ^ Cotterill released from North West Evening Mail. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  7. ^ Cotterill Starts to Re-Bulid His Life from North West Evening Mail. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  8. ^ 'I'm so Sorry' from North West Evening Mail. Retrieved 19 February 2007.
  9. ^ Barnsley-born 'bad boy' signs for Town from Wakefield Today. Retrieved 1 March 2007.
  10. ^ Players Blast Cotts Sentence from North West Evening Mail. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
  11. ^ Cotterill made a Scapegoat because it was on the TV from North West Evening Mail. Retrieved 12 January 2007.