The Premier League outfit deny they were aware the 28-year-old would change his plea to guilty amid claims they knowingly employed him despite his actions
Sunderland have denied claims that they knew Adam Johnson was set to change his plea on two counts to guilty during his recent court case surrounding his relationship with a 15-year-old girl.
The England international continued to play for the Black Cats having been arrested on March 2 2015 before having his contract terminated after he pleaded guilty to grooming and one count of s3xual activity with a child on the first day of his trial at Bradford Crown Court.
Following two weeks of evidence he was found guilty on a further count of s3xual activity with a child and faces up to 10 years in prison for his actions.
And in a statement the Premier League outfit have confirmed the player would have been sacked earlier had they known he would plead guilty.
"The club did not give evidence either for the prosecution or the defence in this case," the statement read.
"It was therefore not present in court when it is understood that a suggestion was made that the club knew all along that Mr. Johnson was intending to change his plea just before trial to enable him to continue to play football for the club and that the club may also have been involved in tactical discussions about the plea.
"This is utterly without foundation and is refuted in the strongest possible terms. The club never placed any pressure or demands on Mr. Johnson to play football during this process.
"Decisions in relation to the pleas and the conduct of the trial have been left entirely to Mr. Johnson and his highly experienced and skilled legal team. Mr. Johnson has admitted in evidence that he changed his plea "on legal advice".
"The club only became aware of the change of plea, in relation to two of the four counts on the indictment, on the first day of the trial, after hearing it reported through the media.
"The club was not advised in advance that Mr. Johnson would plead guilty to any offence. Had the club known that Mr. Johnson intended to plead guilty to any of these charges, then his employment would have been terminated immediately.
"Indeed, upon learning of the guilty plea on 11 February 2016, the club acted quickly and decisively in terminating Adam Johnson’s contract without notice."
Johnson was found not guilty of a fourth charge relating to a s3x act performed on him by a child but was told by Judge Jonathan Rose that a custodial sentence is an "almost inevitable outcome", with the 28-year-old set to be sentenced in two to three weeks.
- Goal