EX-SOCCER ACE GUILTY OF HAVING FAKE PREM JERSEYS & CIGARETTES

Doherty, 46, 'must move to avoid jail'

- STEPHEN MAGUIRE

A FORMER professional footballer caught with tens of thousands of euro worth of fake soccer jerseys must move to the Republic to avoid a possible jail sentence.

Kevin Doherty had pleaded guilty to a number of charges when he appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court in Co Donegal.

It followed a Garda raid on the 46-year-old's home in the county in which a haul of hundreds of items were found in the garden shed on June 11, 2019.

Among the items seized was almost €50,000 worth of cigarettes and tobacco as well as hundreds of pairs of fake Nike and Vans trainers.

There were also dozens of replica jerseys and other fake clothing including Ralph Lauren, Adidas, New Balance, Nike, Fred Perry and Gym King.

When quizzed by gardai, Doherty initially claimed he didn't have a key for the shed and that he was just storing them for somebody else.