Tax fraud convict Carew gets Norwegian youth coaching role

Former international forward John Carew has been given a job by the Norwegian football federation despite being convicted for tax fraud, the body announced on Thursday.

Carew, 43, was convicted in November and sentenced to 14 months in prison for failing to declare 1.2 million euros of income between 2014 and 2019.

The former Aston Villa striker with 91 international caps, has been offered a position coaching Norway’s youth teams.

“He hopes to be able to take up the job while serving his sentence and will be making a request to the prison authorities to do that wearing an electronic bracelet,” the federation said in a statement.

“It’s good that he wants to put his skills to the benefit of children and adolescents,” commented the body’s president Lise Klaeveness.

“Perhaps this job can be incorporated into his sentence, in which case it will be a win-win.”

Carew himself approached the federation with the idea.

“I can’t wait to return to sport,” he said.

“Football remains an important part of my life.

“It would be good to contribute to the development of a new generation of players,” he added.

Carew, who scored 24 goals for Norway, won the Spanish La Liga title with Valencia in 2002.

After spells at Roma, Besiktas and Lyon he joined English Premier League side Aston Villa in 2007, moving on to Stoke and West Ham before retiring in 2012.