Daniel George Scarr (born 24 December 1994) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for club

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. He played for several years in

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

, including as a member of the

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

team that reached the third round of the

2016–17 FA Cup The 2016–17 FA Cup (also known as the FA Challenge Cup) was the 136th edition of the oldest recognised football tournament in the world. It was sponsored by Emirates, and known as The Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. 736 clubs were acc ...

, before signing for

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in January 2017. He spent the 2017–18 season on loan to

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

, and made one

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

appearance for Birmingham before joining

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

in January 2019. He left the club when his contract expired in June 2021 and signed for League One

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

, whom he helped gain promotion to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

and then retain their second-tier status, before signing for Wrexham in 2024.

Life and career

Early life and career

Scarr's father, Ian, played

as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

before becoming a

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

. Scarr himself began his football career at

Worcester College of Technology Heart of Worcestershire College is an academic institution with campuses at Worcester, England, Worcester, Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Redditch and Bromsgrove. It was established in August 2014 on the merging of Worcester College of Tech ...

Football Academy in association with

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. ...

. He was club captain of the Academy's team, and it was at that stage that he was converted from

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. After completing his college course, Scarr played for Midland Alliance (ninth-tier) club Causeway United before moving up two steps of the

football pyramid Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

to join

Redditch United Redditch United Football Club is an English football club based in Redditch, Worcestershire. The club participates in the and play their home games at the Valley Stadium. They are managed by Matt Clarke. History They were originally called Re ...

of the

Southern League Premier Division The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and e ...

in 2014. A year later, he signed for

Northern Premier League Premier Division The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system. Geographically, the league c ...

(seventh-tier) club

, for which he played part-time while working as a fitness trainer in a gym in the

Rubery Rubery is the name of two adjacent settlements; one a village in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, the other a suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. It is from Bromsgrove town centre, and from Birmin ...

area of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. In 2015–16 he made 55 appearances in all competitions, performed well, and signed for another season. He was a member of the Stourbridge team that progressed through four rounds of qualifying and two rounds proper to reach the third round of the

. Drawn away to

EFL League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English ...

, Stourbridge conceded just after half-time, but with 20 minutes left, a long free kick into the penalty area fell to Scarr who stabbed it home to equalise;

Adebayo Akinfenwa Saheed Adebayo Akinfenwa (born 10 May 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed " the Beast", he was renowned for his physical prowess and goalscoring ability, in a career where he amassed more than 2 ...

restored Wycombe's lead late on. Scarr's performances earned him a place in the Northern Premier League Premier Division Team of the Season.

Birmingham City

He promptly went on trial with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

, and was watched by other clubs including

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, but it was

the club he supportswho signed him on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. Soon after joining the club, he tore a

hip flexor In anatomy, flexor is a muscle that contracts to perform flexion (from the Latin verb ''flectere'', to bend), a movement that decreases the angle between the bones converging at a joint. For example, one's elbow joint flexes when one brings thei ...

and was out of action for the rest of the season. Scarr joined Wycombe Wanderers on 31 August 2017, on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

until 1 January 2018. After two matches as an unused substitute, Scarr made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

debut on 12 September, in the starting eleven for the League Two fixture away to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

; he played the whole match, which ended goalless. In a 3–3 draw with

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

in October, Scarr conceded a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

for what the referee saw as a foul on

Shaun Miller Shaun Robert Miller (born 25 September 1987) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Kidsgrove Athletic F.C., Kidsgrove Athletic. Miller began his career at ...

; Miller was subsequently charged by the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

and became the first player retrospectively suspended for "successful deception of a match official" via a "clear act of

simulation A simulation is an imitative representation of a process or system that could exist in the real world. In this broad sense, simulation can often be used interchangeably with model. Sometimes a clear distinction between the two terms is made, in ...

". In mid-December, by which time he had made ten league appearances, his loan was extended to the end of the season. Scarr scored his first Football League goal on 22 December with a volley from outside the penalty area to help Wycombe recover from a two-goal deficit away to

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

, only to lose 3–2. He established himself in Wycombe's starting eleven in the second half of the campaign, but an injury sustained playing against

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

in March put an end to his season. The team went on to achieve automatic promotion. He made his debut for Birmingham City in the starting eleven for the visit to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in the

first round on 14 August 2018; Birmingham lost 2–0.

Walsall

Scarr joined League One club

on 21 January 2019, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

Plymouth Argyle

At the end of the 2020–21 season, Scarr turned down Walsall's offer of new terms in favour of joining

of League One when his Walsall contract expired. He made his debut on the opening day of the season, playing the whole of a 2–0 defeat away to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

. After Plymouth won League One in the 2022-23 season, Dan Scarr gained attention on social media for catching a flare thrown towards him during an open top bus parade through the city. Following Plymouth's promotion to the

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

, Scarr signed a new two-year contract.

Wrexham

Scarr joined League One club

on 2 August 2024 on a three-year contract; the fee was undisclosed.

Career statistics

Honours

Plymouth Argyle *

EFL League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

runner-up:

Wrexham *

runner up:

2024-25 A coxless four, abbreviated as a 4- and also called a straight four, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four ...

Individual *

Team of the Year: 2016–17

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarr, Dan 1994 births Living people Footballers from Bromsgrove English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Worcester City F.C. players Redditch United F.C. players Stourbridge F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Southern Football League players Northern Premier League players English Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen