A police officer is facing misconduct proceedings over claims he phoned in sick to referee a football match.
Callum Finnegan is accused of ‘dishonestly’ reporting sick for duty to referee and assistant referee at two football matches.
It is further alleged that the he asked for public records of his refereeing activities on that day to be deleted.
The former West Midlands Office, who has since resigned, is accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour relating to honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct.
He will face a misconduct hearing at the force headquarters on Thursday, chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Jen Mattinson.
The force said the matter alleged amounts to ‘gross misconduct in that it is so serious as to justify dismissal’.
According to his Linkedin profile, Mr Finnegan has been a level five football referee in the West Midlands for 14 years. He joined the police force in June 2020.
Callum Finnegan (centre) is accused of ‘dishonestly’ reporting sick for duty to referee and assistant referee at two football matches instead. Pictured on an unspecified date.
He will face a misconduct hearing at the force headquarters on Thursday
Finnegan has been a level five football referee in the West Midlands for 14 years
Relatives of Mr Finnegan expressed anger at the police for taking two years to investigate a misdemeanour that, they believe, would constitute a minor disciplinary matter for most employers.
They told the Daily Mail on Monday, after the force put out a press notice about the hearing, that the internal probe had taken a devastating toll on the former officer’s life and questioned whether it was a sensible use of public money to continue misconduct proceedings when Mr Finnegan had already resigned.
Mr Finnegan was said to have admitted missing work to referee the game immediately when first questioned about it, with his family baffled as to why the matter has taken two years to resolve.
The former officer is said to have had dozens of statements submitted in support of him, including from the body representing referees at grassroot level.
The two-year misconduct probe into the football match comes at a time police forces across the country are facing accusations of failing to take robust enough action against predatory and dangerous officers in their ranks.
Many cases involving allegations of serious misconduct fail to even reach the misconduct hearing stage, with some officers given written warnings or a verbal dressing down for behaviour as serious as abusing police powers for sexual gain and sending indecent images to colleagues via social media.
Last year, an award-winning police officer who flew off on a Turkish holiday on the day he phoned in sick was found guilty of gross misconduct.
Former PC Raja Khan would have been dismissed if he had not already resigned from Leicestershire Police, a misconduct panel ruled.
The disciplinary hearing was also told Khan allowed a member of the public access to his work laptop, instructing that person to complete a sickness form on his behalf.
An investigation was launched after suspicions were raised when PC Khan reported sick while on a rest day, two days before his next shift.
Evidence indicated that the same evening he flew out to Istanbul in Turkey for a holiday. He was contacted by his line manager and replied by text, saying he was too ill to work.
