Richard Rufus

Richard Raymond Rufus (born 12 January 1975) is an English former professional footballer, who spent his entire career at Charlton Athletic.

This article is about the former football player. For the medieval philosopher, see Richard Rufus of Cornwall.

Richard Rufus
Personal information
Full name Richard Raymond Rufus[1]
Date of birth (1975-01-12) 12 January 1975[1]
Place of birth Lewisham, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Centre back[1]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–2004 Charlton Athletic 288 (12)
National team
1996–1997 England U21 6 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Lewisham, London,[1] Rufus progressed through the youth system at The Valley, making his debut for the club as a teenager in 1994 at the age of 19. He was capped six times by the England national under-21 team from 1996 to 1997.[2]

His most memorable moment for Charlton came at the end of the 1997–98 season. Charlton, having finished fourth in the First Division, were facing Sunderland in the play-off final at Wembley. With five minutes of normal time remaining, Charlton were losing 3-2 before Rufus scored his first ever senior goal from a corner, forcing the game into extra-time. After the resulting 4–4 draw, the Addicks went on to win the game 7–6 on penalties, thus gaining promotion into the Premier League.[3]

Despite being sent off in his first Premier League game against Newcastle United, Rufus developed into a key player in Charlton's ultimately unsuccessful bid to avoid relegation. He remained with the club and enjoyed a very productive 1999–2000 season scoring six goals and helping Charlton to win the First Division title. Back in the Premier League, Charlton were far more successful and remained in the top flight with ease. According to his defensive partner Gary Rowett, the pair and Luke Young were watched regularly by England scouts at this time.[4]

Starting in 2001, Rufus began to suffer a series of injury setbacks. He missed half of the 2001–02 season and the end of the 2002–03 season. He underwent a series of knee operations in 2003 and at one stage looked to have returned to first time reckoning, having appeared on the bench for a League Cup game against Luton Town. He was, however, forced to have another operation done by Richard Steadman. The operation was unsuccessful, and he was forced to retire from football in 2004 at the age of 29.[5] His final competitive appearance for the club came against Liverpool on 21 April 2003.[6] Weeks after his retirement, Rowett retired through the same injury too.[7]

In his decade in Charlton's first team, he was regarded as one of the team's most important players. This was recognised by three player of the year awards and in 2005 he was voted by fans as Charlton's greatest ever defender. In May 2013, Rufus was inducted into the Charlton Athletic Hall of Fame, reflecting the reverence held by the club's supporters for this one-club man.

Personal life

Since retiring, Rufus, a born again Christian, has been involved with plenty of charity work, alongside friends and fellow Christian footballers Darren Moore and Linvoy Primus, as well as occasionally doing punditry work.[8]

In December 2013, Rufus was declared bankrupt after a £6 million failed investment,[9] which cost his church £5m.[10]

In November 2015, Rufus was branded a fraudster by a specialist civil court judge following an £8 million loss to investors.[11] Rufus had operated a £16m Ponzi scheme involving over 100 investors including members of his family and congregation members of churches he had attended. He pocketed more than £3 million to fund his lifestyle. The Insolvency Service described the case as "one of the worst" ever. Rufus was given a 15-year bankruptcy restriction order.[12] At the end of November, he left his roles with Charlton Athletic in the club's academy and the Community Trust following the fraud investigation.[13]

In August 2019, Rufus was due to appear in court in respect of foreign currency exchange fraud of up to £9 million, between 2007 and 2012. The case was adjourned.[14] In September 2020, it was announced that he would face a trial in a Nightingale Court, a temporary courthouse to deal with the backlog from the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]

Honours

Individual

References
  1. "Richard Rufus". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  2. "England's matches: The under 21's: 1990–2000". England Football Online. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  3. Stevens, Rob (24 May 2019). "Charlton v Sunderland 1998: The greatest play-off final ever?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  4. Cawley, Richard (8 November 2019). "Millwall boss Gary Rowett: Charlton was the most frustrating spell of my playing career – injury forced me to retire as I hit my prime". London News Online. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  5. "Rufus forced to retire". BBC Sport. 3 June 2004. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  6. "Reds' late show stuns Charlton". BBC Sport. 21 April 2003. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  7. "Rowett forced to retire". BBC Sport. 6 July 2004. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  8. "England's Richard Rufus: "God Gives You Peace and an Abandant Life"". Christian Today. 11 June 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  9. Arbuthnott, George (29 December 2013). "Ex-footballer scores £6m own goal". The Times. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  10. Brown, David; Keshik, Norhan (6 February 2014). "Footballer's investment own goals cost his church £5m". The Times. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  11. "Former Charlton Athletic defender Richard Rufus accused of £8m investor fraud". The Guardian. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  12. Rumsby, Ben (5 November 2015). "Richard Rufus stole almost £9 million through 'Ponzi' fraud, judge rules". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  13. "Richard Rufus leaves Charlton Athletic posts after fraud findings". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  14. Kirk, Tristan (5 August 2019). "Ex-footballer due in court over 'investment con worth £9 million'". Evening Standard. p. 9.
  15. Mellor, Josh (17 September 2020). "On the frontline in a Nightingale court". Law Gazette. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  16. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (1996). The 1996–97 Official PFA Footballers Factfile. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 285. ISBN 978-1-85291-571-1.
  17. "Keane claims award double". BBC News. 30 April 2000. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
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