Barry Town claimed they knew nothing about it, with the star midfielder playing in all three of their matches since pleading guilty to drug-related offences in court on February 11
Officials at Barry Town football club were left stunned to discover their vice-captain had been jailed for dealing cocaine.
The club was clueless that midfielder Evan Press wouldn’t be available until the day he was sent down for two and a half years by the judge at Newport Crown Court after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of the Class A drug.
His sentence will bring an end to the 24-year-old’s run of playing every game this season for Cymru Premier side Barry, a semi-professional side. On top of his consistent appearances for the team, he had often worn the armband, captaining the side in 19 of his 33 matches.
On top of that, he’s also bagged 11 goals in 187 appearances since joining the club in 2018.
Barry Town claimed they knew nothing about Press’ ongoing court case, with the midfielder playing in all three of their matches since pleading guilty in court on February 11.
“Being brutally honest we only heard about this on the day he was sentenced. He had never told us,” a club spokesperson told Wales Online .
“We were unaware until half an hour after the sentencing on March 19 when we were contacted by a family member. Since the sentencing, we’ve heard bits about the case but we don’t have all the information. We have been processing the news. It is a real shock.
“Evan is a wonderful young man. He’s been part of our club for seven years. He has made a mistake and my understanding is it happened some time ago. We are a family club who want our players to be role models. This was news to us.”
As well as being handed a prison sentence, Press, of Railway Street in Splott, was ordered to pay a £190 victim services surcharge, while an iPhone he used for drug dealing was destroyed.
He began his career in the Newport County academy, but has been a mainstay for Barry for the last seven years. Barry will try to move on from his imprisonment when they play Flint Town United on Saturday afternoon.
“The boys are playing tomorrow and they’ll carry on as normal,” the spokesperson added. “It is what it is. The reality is when a player leaves our care we can’t control what they do outside of football.
“We’re just coming close to European play-offs but in reality the timing of the season is irrelevant. We didn’t want this and we can’t control it sadly.”
In a statement on X, Barry wrote: “We can confirm that Evan Press was sentenced to a prison term on 19th March. This has been a shock to the club and at this moment in time we as a club are not privy to all the facts of the case and will not be making any further comment at this stage.”