Grealish donates £10,000 to Everton fan with terminal cancer hours before club discipline ban

Jack Grealish donated £10,000 to the family of Leon Skapars, a 36-year-old Everton fan from Southport fighting terminal stage four kidney cancer, in a gesture that left his wife Crystal Duffy and the rest of the family in tears — all on the same day Everton excluded the midfielder from their squad to face Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup for a breach of club discipline.

Skapars, a father of three, was first diagnosed with kidney cancer in March 2025 and underwent surgery to remove his right kidney. The cancer returned and spread three months later, and he has since been placed in palliative care on the NHS after being told his condition is terminal. His family and local community began fundraising to access treatments and clinical trials unavailable through the NHS.

Crystal, 31, described the moment she discovered Grealish’s donation on the fundraising page. “I thought there was an error on the page so I refreshed it three times to then see Jack Grealish’s name and £10,000,” she told the Liverpool Echo. “I ran downstairs to wake Leon, who was asleep. I was so overwhelmed I could barely get the words out. When I finally told him, his whole face just lit up. We hugged and smiled at each other, and then we both just burst into tears.”

She added that the donation represented more than money to the family. “It wasn’t just seeing £10,000 on a screen, it was suddenly feeling like we were a huge step closer to getting Leon the treatment we are desperately fighting for. In that moment, Jack gave our whole family something we desperately needed — hope.”

Skapars and his wife have three young sons: Tony, 11, Leuin, four, and Warren, three. “We have three young boys who just need their dad,” Crystal said. “Everything we are doing is about trying to give Leon the best possible chance of being here to watch them grow up.”

The timing of Grealish’s act of generosity made the story all the more striking. Hours after the donation came to light, the 31-year-old — who joined Everton after leaving Manchester City — was absent from the squad for the Carabao Cup tie against Newcastle. Everton manager David Moyes confirmed the omission was disciplinary in nature, though declined to elaborate. “It’s something I don’t really want to speak too much about,” Moyes said after the match.