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| Ipswich Town gave Michael Chopra £250,000 gambling loan | Ipswich Town gave Michael Chopra £250,000 gambling loan |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| A Championship footballer was given a £250,000 loan by his club to help pay off gambling debts, a court has heard. | A Championship footballer was given a £250,000 loan by his club to help pay off gambling debts, a court has heard. |
| Ipswich Town striker Michael Chopra, 27, received the bail out to help satisfy creditors, jurors were told. | Ipswich Town striker Michael Chopra, 27, received the bail out to help satisfy creditors, jurors were told. |
| Details of the debts emerged after Simon Clegg, Ipswich Town chief executive, was called to give evidence at a trial. | Details of the debts emerged after Simon Clegg, Ipswich Town chief executive, was called to give evidence at a trial. |
| The case at Newcastle Crown Court involves four men who deny turning a Sunderland flat into a drugs "factory". | The case at Newcastle Crown Court involves four men who deny turning a Sunderland flat into a drugs "factory". |
| Prosecutors said £50,000 in cash found in a Jaguar car was drugs money. | Prosecutors said £50,000 in cash found in a Jaguar car was drugs money. |
| Cash demand | |
| But the defendants argue it was a cash payment made by Chopra as an instalment towards settling his debts. | But the defendants argue it was a cash payment made by Chopra as an instalment towards settling his debts. |
| The court heard people had been to Ipswich Town's training ground to demand cash from Chopra. | The court heard people had been to Ipswich Town's training ground to demand cash from Chopra. |
| Mr Clegg, who gave evidence on Tuesday via video-link, said the club was aware of Chopra's debts when they signed him from Cardiff City in the summer. | Mr Clegg, who gave evidence on Tuesday via video-link, said the club was aware of Chopra's debts when they signed him from Cardiff City in the summer. |
| He estimated the total amount to be "somewhere in the region of quarter-of-a-million pounds". | He estimated the total amount to be "somewhere in the region of quarter-of-a-million pounds". |
| Mr Clegg, former chief executive of the British Olympic Association, thought a "significant percentage" of that figure related to gambling. | Mr Clegg, former chief executive of the British Olympic Association, thought a "significant percentage" of that figure related to gambling. |
| "He certainly owed money to individuals down in Wales and others in the north of the country," said Mr Clegg. | |
| "The best of my knowledge is they were not institutions, they were individuals - not the sort of people I would be going to if i wanted to borrow money." | "The best of my knowledge is they were not institutions, they were individuals - not the sort of people I would be going to if i wanted to borrow money." |
| Debt worries | Debt worries |
| Mr Clegg said Chopra was worried about the debts and confirmed the club had loaned him around £250,000 towards paying them off. | Mr Clegg said Chopra was worried about the debts and confirmed the club had loaned him around £250,000 towards paying them off. |
| "He didn't go into too much detail but he made it very clear to me he had to pay the money back," said Mr Clegg. | "He didn't go into too much detail but he made it very clear to me he had to pay the money back," said Mr Clegg. |
| "I was under the impression, and made certain assumptions relating to that, that he needed to pay the money back or he would find himself in trouble." | "I was under the impression, and made certain assumptions relating to that, that he needed to pay the money back or he would find himself in trouble." |
| Chopra, formerly of Newcastle United and Sunderland, recently spent three weeks receiving rehabilitation for his problems. | Chopra, formerly of Newcastle United and Sunderland, recently spent three weeks receiving rehabilitation for his problems. |
| Prosecutors claim Joseph Lewins, 53, of Washington; Daniel Chisholm, 49, of Sunderland; Christopher Bacon, 31, of Sunderland; and John Somerville, 51, of Newcastle, conspired together to supply class A drugs between April and November last year. | Prosecutors claim Joseph Lewins, 53, of Washington; Daniel Chisholm, 49, of Sunderland; Christopher Bacon, 31, of Sunderland; and John Somerville, 51, of Newcastle, conspired together to supply class A drugs between April and November last year. |
| All four deny the charge and the trial continues. | All four deny the charge and the trial continues. |
| Ipswich Town declined to comment. | Ipswich Town declined to comment. |