Premier League legend caught in strip membership scandal was advised ‘go lap dancing extra usually’

A Premier League legend was once caught in a strip club just hours before a huge match.

John Carew, who no doubt celebrated turning 47 in some style yesterday (Saturday, September 4), joined Aston Villa in 2007 after a goal-laden career on the continent with the likes of Valencia, Roma, Besiktas and Lyon. The 6ft 5in Norwegian forward had a perfect little and large partnership with Gabby Agbonlahor and he notched 48 goals in 131 games in all competitions.

But Carew wasn’t always as professional as the La Liga winner’s list of clubs would make out after he was caught in a strip club incident in 2008. And his antics even inspired Villa fans to sing his chant: “John Carew, Carew. He likes a lap-dance or two. He might even pay for you. John Carew, Carew.”

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However, Martin O’Neill didn’t find it so amusing as he warned his entire Aston Villa squad about going for nights out in Birmingham and disciplined Carew when the Norwegian was spotted in mischievous company in the early hours of the morning, before Villa played host to Ajax in the UEFA Cup.

Carew was fined a week’s wages of £52,000 for breaking the curfew by visiting the city’s Rocket Club. But the big striker argued he was only in the Rocket Club briefly after a meal elsewhere and had been ill, so did not expect to figure against Ajax.

His behaviour forced O’Neill to deliver a lecture to any party-going players following a training session. He warned the team to keep a low profile and shun trendy nightspots such as Mechu.

Some of his team-mates saw the funny side of it. “I don’t know what John was doing – there are some miles better places than The Rocket Club,” Agbonlahor quipped at the time.

But Villa skipper Martin Laursen reminded Carew about his responsibilities after he was left disappointed by the towering Norwegian’s night on the tiles.

“I was surprised he behaved like that,” Laursen admitted. “I don’t think he was in the club for long but he shouldn’t do that before a game.

“Even though he perhaps knew he was not going to play, he knew that he should have been with us at the hotel on Thursday. It’s not a good but he has realised that and won’t ever do that again.”

However, Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov reckoned Carew should have been allowed to do whatever he liked as long as he continued to deliver the goods on the pitch.

He had been named as a substitute away at Wigan as an additional punishment, but came off the bench to score in a 4-0 romp.

Petrov laughed: “We should let him go out every night if he plays like that. He should go lap dancing more often. Whatever he’s doing is working. We all motivate ourselves in different ways maybe that is his way.”

But Carew evidently didn’t curb all his bad behaviour, as he later found himself on the wrong side of the law when he was jailed for 14 months for gross negligence related to tax evasion.

He was also fined £45,000 in his native Norway over fraud crimes worth a sum in the region of £450,000. The court could have doubled Carew’s sentence if it found he had intentionally avoided paying tax.

Carew’s lawyer, Berit Reiss-Andersen, argued the proceedings should have been dealt with as a confession case because the defendant had admitted to tax evasion while insisting it was not intentional.

Since hanging up his boots in 2012 at West Ham, Carew has left football behind and now works as a full-time actor.

He has starred in the hit Norwegian TV series Heimebane (Home Ground) and has appeared in Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and took on a role in Netflix’s holiday series Home for Christmas.