Reports: Captain of English third-tier club not famous enough to skip jury duty

Soccer player not famous enough to skip jury duty

LONDON — A judge has ruled that the captain of an English soccer club just isn’t famous enough to be allowed to skip jury duty.

British media say that Carl Fletcher, who plays for third-tier Plymouth, said his celebrity status on the south coast made him ineligible to serve on a jury.

The 30-year-old former Wales midfielder had first argued that Plymouth’s road match three hours away at Cheltenham on Tuesday would make him ineligible.

But that an excuse was dismissed by Judge Francis Gilbert, who said he can drive from the court to the match, according to the Daily Telegraph and Plymouth’s Herald.

Gilbert told Fletcher that he could only be excused due to previous convictions or a mental disorder.