Richard Rufus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Richard Raymond Rufus[1] 12 January 1975[1] Lewisham, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | Professional football player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Criminal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Criminal status | Convicted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Conviction(s) | 12 January 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Criminal charge | Fraud, money laundering, carrying out a regulated activity without authorisation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Penalty | seven and a half years imprisonment |
Richard Raymond Rufus (born 12 January 1975) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre back, spending his entire career with one club, Charlton Athletic. He was also capped six times by England U21.
Rufus was part of both Charlton Athletic teams that earned promotion to the Premier League during the Alan Curbishley era, playing in the 1998 Football League First Division play-off final against Sunderland that were victorious on penalties. Two years later following relegation he was a regular in the team that won the First Division as champions. He would play for Charlton and in the top flight over the next few seasons before retiring at the end of the 2003–04 season. In 2005 he was voted as Charlton's greatest ever defender and was later inducted into their hall of fame in 2013.[2] In January 2023, he was convicted of fraud.
He was inducted into the Charlton Athletic Hall of Fame in May this year.