No way back for Town bust-up pair Payne and Morais
DUO WON’T PLAY AGAIN THIS SEASON, SAYS HURST
STEFAN Payne and Filipe Morais’ Grimsby Town careers look to be over after Paul Hurst confirmed neither will play again this season.
The pair were embroiled in a high-profile incident during last weekend’s defeat at Bradford City, which saw Payne direct a headbutt at his team-mate at half-time at Valley Parade.
The incident occurred after Morais had berated the striker for not chasing down a pass from him, and was played out in clear view of the referee. Despite Payne and his Town team-mates trying to get the forward off the pitch without any punishment being doled out, James Bell followed him to the dressing room, where he dished out the red card at the entrance.
Morais was subsequently substituted before the start of the second half, while an angry Hurst slammed the pair after the game, calling the incident “embarrassing”. And the Town boss has decided on his punishment, with neither player set to feature in the final six games of the current season.
“Him (Payne) and Fil (Morais) are both still contracted to the football club, but neither of them will be making an appearance for us,” Hurst told GrimsbyLive. Asked about their futures beyond the end of the season, Hurst added: “I’ve made my decision on that. It was an incident that we didn’t want to have to be talking about, and it didn’t reflect well on the football club.” The incident was a particularly tough one for Hurst to take, having worked previously with Payne at Shrewsbury before bringing him to Town in January in order to help the Mariners in their battle against relegation.
They are still contracted to the club, but neither will be
making an appearance for us.
“I’ve not witnessed that before from him, and it’s a situation that you don’t want to happen.
“I think he’s fully aware and understands the decision that’s been made.”
Paul Hurst