Jonathan Redhead Kirkley & Pakefield manager Nick Shorten yesterday revealed the club have terminated the contract of striker Lee Gilman. Gilman had been suspended by the club after the incident which saw their Ridgeons League Premier Division game against Harwich & Parkeston abandoned, when the front man allegedly struck referee Adam Crysell after receiving a red card.

Jonathan Redhead

Kirkley & Pakefield manager Nick Shorten yesterday revealed the club have terminated the contract of striker Lee Gilman.

Gilman had been suspended by the club after the incident which saw their Ridgeons League Premier Division game against Harwich & Parkeston abandoned, when the front man allegedly struck referee Adam Crysell after receiving a red card.

The official then abandoned the game after just 41 minutes, with the score at 1-1, claiming his "safety had been compromised".

Suffolk FA and Essex Police are investigating the incident, but Shorten confirmed that Gilman, who the club signed from Wroxham in the summer, will never play for K&P again.

Describing the incident as an "all-time low" in his K&P career, Shorten vowed the incident, which leaves Gilman facing the possibility of a lifetime ban, would never be repeated.

"In my 10 years of football management with Kirkley & Pakefield FC, last Saturday, goes down as an absolute all-time low which has resulted in the club picking up headlines for all of the wrong reasons," Shorten said.

"The incident involving Lee Gilman has left everyone at the club in shock and it has made us all focus very hard on making sure that an incident like this can never happen again.

"As the principal team in a Community Charter Standard Club we have a responsibility to conduct ourselves in a manner that demonstrates and sets a standard for all other teams to follow.

"The ultimate fate of the player will now be in the hands of the FA, however we have moved ahead of this by immediately suspending him from football and informing him and the FA of our absolute intention to terminate his contract.

"He will clearly never represent our club again."

Shorten said all the players and staff at K&P had been reminded of their responsibilities.

"We have conducted a meeting with the coaching and playing staff where everyone has been reminded of the code of conduct expected of them at this club and I am confident they will adhere to the required standard moving forward.

"Where they don't they will be held to account and ultimately as the manager so will I.

"I have heard lots of rumours, speculation and noise about things that supposedly happened at Harwich on Saturday and although the actions of Lee Gilman cannot be defended, the way that our players and officials conducted themselves has gone on record from the referee as being exemplary.

"I finish by formally apologising to all our club members, all of our supporters and all of our sponsors for the serious breach of conduct at Harwich on Saturday and give you mine, my management team's and my players' commitment that such an incident will not happen again."