Mansfield Town have suspended midfielders Dion Donohue and Jacob Mellis following an alleged serious breach of club discipline.
Mansfield announced the suspension via a brief statement on the club’s official website.
Stags boss John Dempster did not include the pair in his matchday squad at the weekend, and the club said they would make no further comment until the completion of an internal investigation. It also confirmed the players would not be attending training or involved with the team until the club had completed its inquiry.
It is not the first time Mellis has been in trouble. Chelsea sacked the twenty-eight-year-old in 2012 after he admitted setting off a smoke grenade at the club’s Cobham training ground. He arrived at Field Mill last summer after spells at Southampton, Barnsley, Blackpool, Oldham and Bury.
Donoghue signed for the Stags just last month, joining from Portsmouth on a two-year deal. The twenty-five-year-old spent two years at Fratton Park after coming through the ranks at Chesterfield.
Unsubstantiated rumours have been swirling around social media since the end of last week about the pair’s involvement in an alleged unsavoury late-night incident, and the latest statement only fuelled the speculation and rumour.
Stags fans appeared split between those calling for perspective and the pair to be given a fair hearing before reaching any conclusions and others who were quite adamant the club should terminate the contracts of both players with immediate effect.
Here is a selection of supporter reaction to the statement on Twitter.
Just sack them, shouldn’t be allowed near football
— CWB 🏴 (@cwb1862) August 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/fabs2305/status/1163464954877501440?s=20
https://twitter.com/spelly74/status/1163464185109516290?s=20
If it’s as bad as what people are making it out to be,I think they will get sacked mate. I would like to no the whole story tho. There’s more to it then people are making out. Innocent till proven guilty.
— steve (@steyuilly22) August 19, 2019
Sack em
— Bradley (@BGiles2004) August 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/FtblMbappe/status/1163462631564500993?s=20
Get them Binned!
— Anthony Nelson (@corbygooner) August 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/Willhzz/status/1163465591694532608?s=20
