Thieving football referee blamed stepson

Police arrested and quizzed Robert Allen’s wife Elizabeth and stepson Joseph after the cash went missing and Allen pointed the finger.

But the criminal, who has previously fleeced women footballers, finally accepted the blame.

He was jailed for nine months by Recorder Simon Hirst who told him: “You have a litany of dishonesty.”

Allen, 48, was refereeing five-a-side matches for Leisure Leagues at Adwick soccer centre, near Doncaster.

He was responsible for collecting money from the two teams to hand over to the company but the cash was not delivered.

He should have deposited £413 and a further £328 but claimed the money had been stolen.

Leisure Leagues called in the police and Allen was arrested. He said he had left the money at home and later found it had vanished.

Prosecutor Brian Outhwaite said: “He suggested his stepson was involved and police questioned his wife and stepson.

“She made no comment but his stepson appeared shocked and visibly upset when told he was being accused of theft.”

Allen maintained his story until the day of his trial when he changed his plea to guilty.

Sheffield Crown Court heard that in February, 2012 Allen was convicted of theft and false accounting after stealing £1,740 from a women’s football league in Doncaster where he was treasurer.

He was given a 16-week jail term suspended for a year and embarked on the first of the Adwick offences just nine days after completing the sentence.

In 2004 at Lincoln he was also convicted of theft after failing to bank the proceeds of a raffle and charity collection for the Sun Nursery Association of Parents and Staff where he was also treasurer.

He has four convictions for theft from an employer stretching back to 1983.

Allen, of Barnby Dun Road, Wheatley Park, Doncaster, admitted the two offences of theft from Leisure Leagues. It never got its money back.

Edward Moss, defending, said Allen’s wife was wheelchair-bound having suffered a brain haemorrhage and three slipped discs and he was her sole carer. He still refereed matches but did not handle money.

Recorder Hirst said: “You deliberately accused your stepson of stealing this money.”