Gainsborough Trinity, a seventh-tier football club, has alerted footballing authorities to an unknown person who has been impersonating their manager, Russ Wilcox. This individual has reportedly been issuing fraudulent offers to players across the non-league game.
The club has referred the matter to both the Football Association and the Northern Premier League. FA regulations prohibit direct contact between managers and players for transfer approaches, requiring all such communications to go through formal club-to-club channels.
Gainsborough chief executive Matt Boles condemned the imposter's actions, stating, "To the person responsible: enough is enough. Stop impersonating our manager, stop wasting the time of players and clubs across the non-league game and, quite frankly, get a life." The club clarified that the approaches, which included potential transfers and wage offers, were not made by Wilcox or on behalf of Gainsborough Trinity.
The club expressed gratitude to other officials who flagged the fake queries directly to Wilcox, noting that many recognised the professional standards by which he conducts himself.