A semi-professional footballer scored a massive own goal after he was caught playing despite his alleged foot injury claim.
Callum Saunders (pictured), 33 was a striker for Haywards Heath FC from 2015 to 2019. He was in the process of claiming over £55,000 from insurer Aviva for an injury he allegedly sustained in a road traffic accident in 2017.
But insurance investigators with Clyde & Co discovered that, during April of this year, Saunders was filmed playing for Haywards Heath FC during the match in which they won the Southern Combination Football League championship. In addition, Saunders’ social media accounts displayed posts about his appearance in the game. Haywards Heath FC’s YouTube channel also has footage of Saunders playing during the period he claimed he was still suffering from his injury.
Clyde & Co was working on behalf of Aviva.
In 2019, Saunders’ goal against Three Bridges FC was caught on Sky TV’s Soccer AM show. This footage was one of the key pieces of evidence presented to Brighton County Court, showing that Saunders kicked using his right foot – the foot he claimed was injured.
Saunders agreed his claim had been fundamentally dishonest under Section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 after being confronted with the evidence.
“Callum Saunders may well have been feeling happy about his Soccer AM appearance but, in the end, it turned out to be a massive own goal. Having consistently lied to increase the amount of money he thought he could claim, our investigation showed that he behaved dishonestly,” said Clyde & Co partner Damian Rourke in a official company release. “In hindsight, you have to ask how he thought he’d get away with it after constantly posting and tweeting about his football performances.”
“This is a shocking example of opportunistic greed. Saunders clearly believed his minor injury claim was an open-goal – what he didn’t count on is that Aviva is determined to tackle fraudulent claims and stop fraudsters in their tracks. We will pursue and prosecute those who commit fraud to ensure there are serious consequences, as Saunders can now attest,” added Aviva head of casualty claims Rob Lee.
