Professional footballer who claimed he was unable to work due to car crash injuries caught out after playing 30 matches

A professional footballer who claimed he was unable to work due to car crash injuries caught out after playing 30 matches in a title winning season.

Richie Allen was playing for Salford City, a League Two club which is part-owned by a group of former Manchester United stars, when he was a passenger in a car involved in a crash in January 2017.

The 37-year-old striker, who joined the club in 2015, left at the end of the title-winning 2018 season, scoring 17 goals last year.

Despite his 'injuries', which he claimed were so severe he couldn't work for 11 months, Preston County Court heard how he played more the 30 football matches during the time he said he was 'unable to work'.

Among them included playing in crucial games for Salford City FC in the team's title-winning 2017/18 season, which saw them promoted from the National League North to the National League.

A spokesperson for specialist insurance law firm Horwich Farrelly said: "Footballer Richard Allen scored a spectacular own goal after a court ruled he made a dishonest claim for whiplash following a car accident.

"After being involved as a passenger in a motor collision in Preston in January 2017, Allen claimed he was injured for 11 months and unable to work.

"Despite these claims he continued to play several matches for Salford City FC until the end of their National League North title-winning season in 2017/18, as well as going on to play for Longridge Town FC of the North West Counties League Premier Division.

The spokesman said that in total, Allen played more than 30 matches after the accident, disproving his claim.

"When Horwich Farrelly exposed that Allen had indeed been playing in football matches despite saying he was injured, his defence was that he was able to play because he was self-medicating with illegally purchased steroids in order to hide his injuries as he had no other means of income besides football.

"Despite these claims Horwich Farrelly pushed for the case to go to court where the judge found Allen fundamentally dishonest and ordered him to pay costs of over £6,000."

The spokesman said the case was settled on August 20, but that details could only be revealed on Friday.