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Football club fined £4,000 over death of trainee player

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Football club fined £4,000 over death of trainee player

Falkirk Football Club has been fined £4,000 following the death of an apprentice player, who was electrocuted when training equipment he was carrying touched an overhead power cable.

Craig Gowans, 17, died on 8 July at the Scottish Premier League club's training ground in Grangemouth, while setting up equipment for senior players arriving for pre-season training. The club was fined for failing to ensure the safety of the young central defender, who was only two weeks into a two-year contract with Falkirk. John Hughes, the club's manager, and George Craig, the managing director, appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court, having admitted the charge.

A club statement said: 'Falkirk Football Club fully accepts the ruling of the court.' Craig said the accident had led to a major shake-up in the way Falkirk FC handled the health and safety of its employees. 'We have employed the services of a health and safety consultant and we have risk assessments carried out at all the locations where Falkirk FC employees are working,' he said.

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