Liverpool “Condemn” Jon Flanagan Assault and Begin Internal Investigation

Earlier today, Jon Flanagan was sentenced to community service following his guilty plea for an extended, drunken December assault of his girlfriend, bringing legal proceedings to an end. Now, the club will begin their own investigation of the matter to determine any internal disciplinary actions that will be taken.

For many, it will be a failed investigation if it ends with Flanagan still on the books, though the tone taken in a statement released on the matter today at least hints that Liverpool consider his actions to be both personally wrong and, more broadly, damaging to the club. Any punishment, then, is likely to arrive quickly.

“We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the player’s actions during the events that took place resulting in this criminal conviction,” read a statement released by the club. “It leaves his own reputation damaged and, through association, he has severely let down the club he had previously represented with distinction.

“We have expressed to him our disappointment and anger that he has failed to live up to the values of Liverpool Football Club in this specific instance. The club has allowed the legal formalities to reach a conclusion before deciding on or implementing any internal disciplinary action. That internal process will now begin.”

With the club choosing to make a statement that notes their anger and acknowledges that Flanagan’s actions, beyond being personally reprehensible, damage the image of the club, it does appear they consider his actions to be severe. Now we wait to find out what, if anything, that means for Flanagan’s future.