Gainsborough Trinity report mystery impersonator posing as manager Russ Wilcox to sign players

Gainsborough Trinity have reported an unknown individual to the Football Association and the Northern Premier League after the person repeatedly impersonated manager Russ Wilcox to make fraudulent transfer approaches to players across the non-league game.

The seventh-tier club issued a strongly worded statement condemning the behaviour, with chief executive Matt Boles delivering a blunt message to the culprit: “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.”

According to the club, the individual claimed to represent both Wilcox and Gainsborough Trinity while making unauthorised wage and contract proposals to prospective signings. Direct contact between managers and players is prohibited under FA regulations, which require all transfer approaches to go through formal club-to-club channels.

“We want to make it categorically clear that these approaches have not been made by Russ Wilcox, nor have they been made on behalf of Gainsborough Trinity Football Club,” the statement read. “Impersonating a football manager and making false representations to players is completely unacceptable and has the potential to cause unnecessary disruption and reputational damage to players, managers and clubs.”

The club thanked fellow officials who flagged the suspicious enquiries directly to Wilcox, noting that many recognised immediately that the approaches were out of character for the manager. “They know the professional standards by which he conducts himself, and immediately recognised that this is not the manner in which he would approach or attempt to recruit a player,” the statement added.

Wilcox, 62, is a familiar figure in the lower reaches of English football, having played for and managed Scunthorpe United and also held managerial roles at York City and Farsley Celtic.

Gainsborough, who play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, reached the FA Cup first round proper last season before losing to Accrington Stanley. They are due to face Leamington away in FA Cup qualifying on Saturday 19 September.