Fined over handcuff gesture

Mike Keegan

November 10, 2008

| Submit Comments | Comments (18) | Previous | Next

FINED: David Norris

THE footballer who celebrated a goal by gesturing a show of support to his jailed drink-driving friend has been fined and warned by his club.

Former Bolton Wanderers midfielder David Norris will also face an FA investigation after making what appeared to be a 'handcuffs' sign on Saturday.

Norris is a former team mate of Luke McCormick, who was sentenced to more than seven years after ploughing his car into a vehicle in a crash which killed Partington brothers Ben and Arron Peak, aged eight and 10.

McCormick had been partying at Norris's wedding the night before the smash - which happened on the M6 in Staffordshire on June 7.

He was twice the drink-drive limit. Norris, who now plays for Ipswich Town, has written to the boys' parents and has been warned about his future conduct.

He claims the gesture, made in a match at Blackpool, has been 'wrongly interpreted'.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Suffolk club said: "The club also regrets the potential for misinterpretation of the gesture and would like to make a donation to an appropriate charity equal to the fine imposed on the player."

Amanda Peak, the boys' mother, had earlier called for action.

She said: "It's not right. He said it was something to show solidarity, but he's had a good few months to do that. He's got to have known how it would have come across. I knew what the symbol was, and if I did, everyone must.

"Something must be done to show that you can't get away with doing silly things. Hundreds of kids must look up to him."

Her comments were echoed by neighbour Phil Bennett, who was in the car at the time of the crash.

He said: "It's something that should not be done in public. I'm angry about it. It was out of order. We never ran round the streets saying 'hooray McCormick's been jailed' after the case.

"Things like that don't help the healing process. He should have more respect for people's feelings. If it was a private message, it should have been said in private behind closed doors, not in front of thousands. He's shown no respect to us."

Mrs Peak's husband, Phil, was at the wheel of the Toyota Previa people carrier when it was hit by McCormick's Range Rover shortly before 6am.

You need Flash player 8+ and JavaScript enabled to view this video.

460

275

false

| Submit Comments | Comments (18) | Previous | Next

Showing comments 1 to 18 and replies | View All

PW, Manchester (10/11/2008 at 18:37)

Grossly inconsiderate. When it gets down to it, all they can do is kick and control a ball. Not really much else.

Mark,Radcliffe. (10/11/2008 at 19:56)

Next time,you should feint a career finishing injury....Then think...you were allowed to have a career.

Jason G Robinson, Mottram St Andrew (10/11/2008 at 20:54)

Gordon Taylor banish this idiot from the game.

umpire 2, Salford M7 4HT (10/11/2008 at 22:12)

Come on, let us finish this now, he plays for Ipswich Town not a big club, is this all we can have in the News for Greater Manchester biggest paper.....

Move on please

Sam 1986, Stretford (10/11/2008 at 22:23)

What an over reaction!!

Jonny Labels (10/11/2008 at 22:41)

A private gesture ! It makes me so annoyed that people so thick can earn so much money by kicking a ball around a field, and the majority of them can't even do that very well. Its time the ticket paying fans could demand their money back if their team lost, then lets see who's walking round all self obsessed, thinking they're more important than absolutely everyone including the people who work 10 hours everyday just to give goons like this all their money so they can watch them fall over on a particularly tough piece of manicured grass and roll round grimacing as though they've been fatally wounded.
If the most ardant fan stopped going to football matches, would the players or club contact them to ask why or how to make them come back ? No. Why not ? Because you dont matter and the sooner fans realise that the sooner players wages will come down and maybe they might feel it necesary to start playing better football.

David,North M/C (10/11/2008 at 23:41)

Ive tried to type but I cant express my feelings towards this footballers actions.

Chocolate, Manchester. (10/11/2008 at 23:51)

Right, how do they know he was gesturing handcuffs and also who interpreted it as being for his friend, the prisoned one.????

Jay B, oldham (11/11/2008 at 09:09)

having looked at the video footage it doesnt look like a handcuff gesture at all.

his arms are crossed! its more of an x!

Grief Tourist, Trumpton (11/11/2008 at 10:43)

Of course it's a handcuff gesture, the player in question admitted that it was a tribute to the scumbag who killed the kids, if it's not a handcuffs gesture, what is it?

The Seeker, Eccles (11/11/2008 at 12:19)

I wonder who else this brainless footballer would support?

stalyvegasblue (11/11/2008 at 16:05)

To all those who have posted and doubt his gesture in anyway- by his own admission he has said it was his own tribute to his mate the child killer!

RED1 (11/11/2008 at 19:17)

This 'overpaid' footballer should be ashamed of his actions. It makes me sick to think of the suffering the family of the innocent family members have suffered. God help us if this footballer considers himself a role member to young people. Hang your head in shame!

Manchester by Day (11/11/2008 at 21:53)

I doubt the Peak family were at the game on Saturday so I wonder how they found out? A tabloid journalist perhaps?

The reporting of this unfortunate incident just strengthens the media's desire to control public opinion.

Gringo The Mexican Mancunian (12/11/2008 at 01:07)

How about this for a lesson Norris will not forget in a hurry. Fine him 6 months wages and donate them to the bereaved family. It would appear that most footballers these days think they are either above the law because of their earning power (paid for by the working class fans!)or genuinely have the intelligence of a crisp packet. This man needs to be brought to earth with a bump.

Manchester by Day (12/11/2008 at 09:23)

Gringo the Mexican -

What do you mean, "above the law"? What criminal offence has Norris made? What is illegal about his actions? Nothing.

umpire 2, Salford M7 4HT (12/11/2008 at 10:24)

Come on, have you lot not done anything stupid, how would you like to be fined 6 months wages or worse.
Supporting a friend is what is missing in this country, we have too much bad news and reporters making bad news a lot worse than it is.
This game happen in Suffolk, it was not showed on National TV until was advertised in the National Press.

Get areal life start worrying about the credit crunch, your own jobs and your own families without interfering in other matters that we do not know the proper facts for.

Gringo The Mexican Mancunian (14/11/2008 at 13:40)

Manchester by day, potentially Norris has committed an offence under the public order act by causing persons harrassment alarm or distress, he has at the very least shown his support in the most public of forum for someone that has killed 2 innocent people, do you not find that offensive? I certainly do, what if he had goose stepped down the touchline whilest doing the nazi salute as a "private message" would you think differently then? At best this action was that of an uneducated moron with ideas above his station at worse, potentially, a criminal matter.
Umpire 2, I have immersed myself in the facts published on the matter and have witnessed the gesture myself so why can I not comment, am I not allowed an opinion? Support of ones freinds and colleagues is fine, but when involved in something as sensitive as this then perhaps people need to check their own over inflated ego, wage packet and self importance and do it in private. And as you ask my job is very secure, and my family is very well thank you, shame I cant say the same about the poor victims in this matter. Would any of you defend a person who publicly supported say the Moors Murderers or Harold Shipman? Mcormick may not have killed hundreds of people or snatched kids off the streets and tortured them to death, but he intentionally drove a vehicle on a public road whilest well over the limit, causing the death of 2 innocents and destroyed the lives of the victims immediate families. Perhaps if it were your kids or families involved you would think differently.

()

Report

News