Former England international Trevor Sinclair is the subject of a bankruptcy order from HMRC over a £36k tax bill. The 52-year-old was once a top Premier League player with the likes of Queens Park Rangers, West Ham and Manchester City, before becoming a regular fixture on TV screens in retirement.
But his punditry career took a blow when he was axed by the BBC in 2018, and again when he left talkSPORT following a controversial social media post about Queen Elizabeth’s death. Now, he is in the midst of a legal back-and-forth, with District Judge Caroline Wilkinson telling him: “No more head in the sand.”
Central London County Court heard that Sinclair ended up owing a sizeable sum to the taxman after his accountant died. The amount owed stems from the 2021/22 tax year and includes two large sums, plus outstanding National Insurance and penalty payments.
Shabab Rizvi, for HMRC, told Judge Wilkinson: “HMRC‘s position today is that we are seeking a bankruptcy order. Since the breathing space order ended, we have had no contact from the debtor. The debtor is a former Premier League footballer and should have the means to satisfy the debt, but there’s been no contact with HMRC at all.”
Sinclair’s legal representative successfully sought a two-month adjournment after disclosing that the 52-year-old ‘is currently in receipt of a job offer in Saudi Arabia’.
Sinclair has been an assistant coach for the Indian national team since last January. He took up a punditry role with the BBC in 2015, having retired from top-level professional football seven years prior, although he was dismissed by the broadcaster after injuring a woman while driving drunk.
He told the Ben Heath Podcast last year: “I’ve got no time for anyone that gets behind the wheel after drinking and I did that, so I lost my job with the BBC. I was driving carefully, seeing the girl kind of get out and as soon as I clipped her, I thought – everything just went dark.
“And then I waited for the police and said, ‘I’ve been drinking, bang to rights’. The BBC obviously didn’t want to know anymore after that. Obviously, I regret that.”
Sinclair remained an expert voice on talkSPORT in the years that followed, but he was suspended by the radio station for a social media post on the Queen’s death in 2022. He wrote: “Racism was outlawed in England in the 60’s & it’s been allowed to thrive so why should black and brown mourn!!”
Sinclair later deleted the post and apologised, but he only made one more appearance on talkSPORT before moving into coaching.