• 1978 FA Cup winner failed to declare income from BBC Suffolk
• Beattie given 12-week curfew and told to pay £50 costs
Kevin Beattie, capped nine times by England in the 1970s and once dubbed the "new Bobby Moore", has admitted falsely claiming benefits.
Ipswich magistrates were told that Beattie, 58 and an FA Cup winner in 1978, is now living off "extremely limited means" and acting as a full‑time carer for his wife, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
He was ordered to stay indoors between 10pm and 6am for 12 weeks on a curfew order after admitting falsely claiming almost £9,000 by failing to inform the Department for Work and Pensions that he had begun work as a pundit for BBC Radio Suffolk.
The defence solicitor Lucy Osborn told the court Beattie had jumped at the opportunity in 2008 as he missed being involved in the game on a day‑to‑day basis.
Addressing the court, she said: "You may or may not know that he is an ex-footballer. Sadly his career was cut short in 1983 but at one point he was described as the greatest player to ever play for Ipswich. Football has been and remains the love of his life and he saw this as a wonderful opportunity. He saw the money as expenses for helping out."
She said the injury which caused his retirement still restricts his mobility and causes "great discomfort".
The court was told that Beattie was paid £45 for Saturday matches and £75 for weekday matches by the BBC.
The prosecutor Claire Furlong said that, had Beattie declared this income, his income support would have been stopped or reduced.
The magistrate Debbie Langton said that because an agent had arranged the work, Beattie knew it was more than a voluntary position. She ordered he pay £50 in prosecution costs.
Beattie, originally from Carlisle, played 228 games for Ipswich and also had stints with Colchester and Middlesbrough as well as playing for semi-professional teams in Scandinavia.
He did not comment as he left court. Read More
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