 Sestanovich played one pre-season friendly for Grays before his arrest |
Grays have been ordered to pay jailed former player Ashley Sestanovich five months' wages, reports BBC Essex. The club terminated the player's contract before his conviction in December 2006 for conspiracy to rob a roofing company in June 2005.
In April 2007, Sestanovich was sentenced to eight years in prison.
But a Football Association disciplinary hearing has ordered Grays to make the payment, after ruling they were in breach of FA regulations.
The club claim that Sestanovich told them he was being held on remand for motoring offences, but once the nature of the charges became known they served him with 14 days' notice.
The former Sheffield United, Scarborough, Grimsby and Chester player was found guilty of conspiracy to rob a roofing company in which Thomas Fahey was murdered.
Two other men were convicted of Fahey's murder.
The salary Sestanovich will now receive amounts to more than �10,000.
A Grays spokesman said: "Much as it sticks in our craw to have to pay a substantial amount of money to a convicted criminal who did nothing for this football club, we might have understood it better had we been asked to pay it to the family of the victim of this crime.
"Perhaps Mr Sestanovich might have a pang of conscience and do the decent thing and, if he is at all remorseful rather than greedy, ask us to do just that."
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 