Craig Thomson (footballer, born 1991)

Craig Thomson (born 17 April 1991) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a right-back. He has also played at left-back and on the right wing. Thomson started his career in the Scottish Premier League with Heart of Midlothian, but was loaned to Lithuanian club FBK Kaunas after he was convicted of indecent behaviour involving children. Thomson has also represented the Scotland under-21 team.[1]

For other people named Craig Thomson, see Craig Thomson (disambiguation).

Craig Thomson
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-04-17) 17 April 1991
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Youth career
Heart of Midlothian
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 Heart of Midlothian 47 (1)
2011 → FBK Kaunas (loan) 14 (5)
2012 → FK Sūduva (loan) 16 (3)
2014 Arniston Rangers ? (?)
2014–2016 Newtongrange Star ? (?)
2016–2017 Kelty Hearts ? (?)
2017–2021 Edinburgh City 100 (9)
2021-2022 Cowdenbeath
International career
2009 Scotland U19 2 (0)
2010 Scotland U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13th of April 2021

Club career

Hearts

Thomson made his competitive debut for Hearts on 27 August 2009 in the Europa League against Dinamo Zagreb; Thomson was named as the man of the match on the official Hearts website.[2] He made his Scottish Premier League debut three days later at McDiarmid Park in a 2–2 draw with St Johnstone, and was again named as the man of the match by the official Hearts website.[3] Thomson earned praise from teammate Marius Zaliukas,[4] and won the SPL young player of the month award for September 2009.[5] Thomson impressed with his crossing ability and delivery from corners and free kicks.[6]

On 31 July 2010, Thomson scored two goals with direct free-kicks in a 3–2 victory over Millwall at the New Den in a pre-season friendly.[7] On 23 April 2011, Thomson scored his first competitive goal for Hearts from the penalty spot, as Hearts surrendered a three-goal lead to draw 3–3 with Motherwell at Tynecastle.[8]

Conviction and loans to Lithuania

Thomson was convicted on 17 June 2011 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after admitting 'lewd, libidinous and indecent behaviour' towards two girls aged 12 and 14. He admitted to showing them male genitalia, asking the older one for sex and engaging them in sexual chat. He was fined £4,000 and placed on the sex offenders register for five years. On 10 July 2011, Hearts announced that Thomson would leave the club imminently, following his conviction.[9]

Thomson was loaned to Lithuanian club FBK Kaunas, also owned by Hearts majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov, on 31 July.[10] This meant that Thomson became the first Scottish footballer to play in Lithuania.[10] Thomson played for Kaunas until the end of the 2011 Lithuanian season, in November.[11][12] He returned to Scotland at the end of the Lithuanian football season in November 2011, but was not invited to train with Hearts.[11][13]

Thomson was unable to play for a club until January 2012 because of the transfer window rules.[11] On 9 March 2012, he returned to the A Lyga, joining FK Sūduva on loan.[14][15] In August, he returned to Hearts.[16]

After making no appearance for the club in the 2012–13 season, Hearts announced that Thomson had been released and cut his £1,500 weekly salary from the club's wage bill.[17]

Career after Hearts

Following his release from Hearts, Thomson moved to Cypriot side AEP Paphos.[18] However, the move broke down because according to the chairman "His character was a bit off and he didn’t fit in with the rest of the squad".[19]

After being without a club for some time, Thomson returned to the game in March 2014 with local Junior side Arniston Rangers.[20][21] He moved on to Newtongrange Star in July 2014 and joined Kelty Hearts two years later.[22][23]

Thomson spent one year with Kelty Hearts, helping the side win the SJFA East Superleague title in 2017, before returning to the Scottish football league system with Scottish League Two club Edinburgh City on 3 July 2017.[24][25]

International career

Having featured for Scotland U19, Thomson made his Scotland U21 debut in a 3–1 victory over Northern Ireland U21 at Firhill on 17 November 2010.[26] His second appearance at under-21 level came in a friendly 1–0 defeat to Belgium U21, after which he was singled out for praise by manager Billy Stark.[27]

Personal life

In June 2011, Thomson was placed on the sex offenders' register for five years and fined £4,000 after he pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent behaviour.[28] The charges were related to "sexual conversations" that he had had with two underage girls over the internet.[29] Despite calls from fans for Thomson to be dismissed,[30] the club after a full investigation[31] opted to allow Thomson to stay at the club, acknowledging that his actions were unacceptable but claiming that there were sufficient mitigating circumstances.[32] Hearts' decision was criticised by the mother of one of his victims[33] and a children's charity,[34] while a water supplier withdrew their sponsorship of the club.[35] Days after their decision to retain Thomson, Hearts suspended him.[36]

Hearts announced on 10 July that Thomson would leave the club, following a further disciplinary meeting with majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov.[37] It was not apparent, however, whether Thomson would be released by Hearts, or transferred to another club.[38][39] On 31 July, he was loaned to FBK Kaunas, another club controlled by Romanov.[10] Thomson returned to Scotland at the end of his loan spell.[13] He was released by Hearts in 2013.[17]

In November 2011, Thomson was arrested and charged with "trying to lure a 12-year-old girl into meeting up with him more than two years ago."[40] After a year being charged, the Edinburgh Evening News reported that Thomson had been cleared of this charge, due to lack of evidence.[41]

Career statistics
As of match played 28 October 2017
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Heart of Midlothian 2009–10 Premier League 20000201[lower-alpha 1]0230
2010–11 2710020—291
Hearts total 471004010521
FBK Kaunas 2011 A Lyga 12500——125
FK Sūduva 2012 A Lyga 16300—00163
Edinburgh City 2017–18 Scottish League Two 9010201[lower-alpha 2]0130
Career total 849106020939
  1. Appearance in the Europa League
  2. Appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup

Personal awards and achievements

References
  1. "Player profile – Craig Thomson". Heart of Midlothian FC. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  2. Hearts 2–0 Dinamo Zagreb Archived 2 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Heart of Midlothian FC, 27 August 2009
  3. St Johnstone 2–2 Hearts Archived 5 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Heart of Midlothian FC, 30 August 2009.
  4. "Zal Praise For Thomson". Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  5. "Beckham inspires awardee Thomson". BBC Sport. 11 October 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  6. Bending it like Beckham Archived 15 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Heart of Midlothian FC, 11 October 2009
  7. Match Report: Millwall 2–3 Hearts Archived 15 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine Heart of Midlothian FC, 31 July 2010
  8. "Hearts 3–3 Motherwell". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 April 2011.
  9. "Craig Thomson Statement". Hearts News. Heart of Midlothian FC. 10 July 2011. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  10. "Pirmą kartą Lietuvoje rungtyniaus škotas" (in Lithuanian). FBK Kaunas. 31 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  11. "Hearts sex offender Craig Thomson's future in limbo as loan deal ends". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  12. "Craig Thomson leaves Hearts for Kaunas". STV Sport. 31 July 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  13. "Hearts' Craig Thomson in limbo after return from Kaunas". STV News. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  14. "Hearts' Craig Thomson returns to Lithuania". STV. STV Group. 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  15. "Sūduvą" papildė škotas Archived 13 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine FK Sūduva, 9 March 2012
  16. "Sunday's Scottish gossip". BBC Sport. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  17. "Hearts confirm final release of Craig Thomson". Scotsman. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  18. Επίσημη πρώτη με μεταγραφή (in Greek). kerkida.net. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  19. "Paeodophile footballer Craig Thomson almost lands deal with Cypriot club.. before they discover his pervert past". Daily Record. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  20. "6 former young players of the month who 'vanished'". The Scotsman. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  21. "Shamed star Craig Thomson signs for Arniston Rangers". Midlothian Advertiser. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  22. Thomson, Scott (14 July 2014). "Craig Thomson signs for Newtongrange Star". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  23. Kelty Hearts [@KeltyHeartsJFC] (14 July 2016). "Kelty are delighted to announce the signing of Craig Thomson from Newtongrange" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 July 2016 – via Twitter.
  24. "Sex offender Craig Thomson signs for Edinburgh City". BBC. BBC Sport. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  25. Pilcher, Ross (3 July 2017). "Edinburgh City sign shamed former Hearts player Craig Thomson". Scotsman. Johnston Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  26. "Young Scots overcome NI". Sky Sports. 17 November 2010.
  27. "Tommo's top display". Heart of Midlothian FC. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012.
  28. "Footballer placed on sex offenders register". BBC News. BBC. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  29. Gyford, Sue (17 June 2011). "Hearts' Craig Thomson guilty of preying on underage girls". Scotsman.com. Johnston Press. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  30. "Hearts fans demand sacking". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  31. "Craig Thomson". Heart of Midlothian FC. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  32. Gunn, David (24 June 2011). "Craig Thomson to stay". Scotsman.com. Johnston Press. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  33. Crooks, Lauren (26 June 2011). "Victim's mum reveals full horror of Hearts star Craig Thomson's depravity". Sunday Mail. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  34. "Hearts urged to sack online sex offender Craig Thomson". BBC News. BBC. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  35. "Craig Thomson row: Drinks sponsor macb ends Hearts deal". BBC News. BBC. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  36. "Hearts suspend sex offender Craig Thomson". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  37. McLauchlin, Brian (10 July 2011). "Convicted defender Craig Thomson to part with Hearts". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  38. Press Association (11 July 2011). "Hearts urged to clear up Thomson's position". The Independent. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  39. Anderson, Barry (12 July 2011). "Kaunas no go for disgraced Hearts star Thomson". Scotsman.com. Johnston Press. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  40. "Hearts star Craig Thomson arrested". The Scotsman. 20 November 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  41. "Shamed Hearts star Craig Thomson cleared of preying on 12-year-old girl". Edinburgh Evening News. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  42. "Clydesdale Bank Young Player of the Month for September". cbfootball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
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