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A footballer who once played for England under 21s has been jailed for 10 years after raping a woman he had met in a nightclub.

Jamal Thomas, 25, had previously been found guilty of three rape charges following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

The jury heard the footballer, who also played for Aston Villa youth academy, first met the victim in a club and claimed he was a member of Aston Villa’s first team.

In fact, he had only ever played for the youth academy, the court was told.

Sarah Buckingham, defending, said Thomas, from Baytree Close, Kings Norton, suffered from learning disabilities but had also played for an England under 21 team, reports the Birmingham Mail .

“His dreams of a professional career are finished. A number of testimonials confirm his success,” she said.

“He clearly was a driven and successful young man, although perhaps not talented enough.

“He was good enough to play for an England under 21 side and also with the Aston Villa youth academy team. He even took a drop down to a lower division club to pursue that dream.”

She said the offences had been wholly out of character .

In 2012 Thomas told our sister paper, the Sunday Mercury, about his ‘prison nightmare’ after being accused of taking part in the Birmingham riots.

He said he had been making his way through the city after football training when he was arrested and charged with burgling Bebo cafe, but the Crown Prosecution later dropped the charge.

Thomas said he had hoped one day to play for Aston Villa and England and had attended training weekends organised by the Football Association.