Doncaster City, who play in the 11th tier of English football, surprised fans last week with the signing of three ex-international players – Wes Hoolahan, Charlie Mulgrew, and Ross McCormack.
The trio, who have over 100 international appearances between them and have been on the books of the likes of Celtic and Leeds United, have all retired from professional football but joined Doncaster City shortly before their game against undefeated league leaders Dearne & District on Saturday.
The exact length of the players’ contracts was not made public, but the club’s X (formerly Twitter) account stated that they were only joining “for a short period.”
The club’s announcement of their 3-1 victory over Dearne & District, which saw their new signings make their debuts, was met with anger and ridicule on social media.
Daniel Patterson, a midfielder for fellow non-league side Parkgate FC, defended the moves, however: “The amount of people this has rattled is mental. Will keep saying it every season but non league is full of people who concentrate on everyone else. Do your team, Do you. Then you might have a chance at being successful”.
Doncaster City FC was founded in 2022 by agent Willie McKay, who in 2012 aided with a spree of similarly eyebrow-raising signings by fellow Doncaster side Doncaster Rovers, including former Premier League players El Hadji Diouf, Pascal Chimbonda, and Habib Beye.
McKay was investigated in 2007 over allegations of fraud in transfers, but no evidence of irregular payments was found.
