Darren McCormack (born 29 September 1988) is a Scottish 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 ...
who used to play as a
defender for
Tranent Juniors now a free agent.
McCormack, a
defender, started his career with
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
club
Hibernian, but was released at the end of the 2009–10 season. McCormack then signed for
Ross County, but he suffered a broken leg and was again released. He signed for
East Fife in January 2012 and
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie Unite ...
in July 2013, then
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...
in June 2014. He was also banned from the sport in 2017 following attempted murder and previous convictions until he signed for
Tranent Juniors on July 2021. McCormack has also represented the
Scotland national under-21 football team
The Scotland national under-21 football team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is Scotland's national under 21 football team and is considered to be a feeder team for the Scotland national football team.
As a European under-21 t ...
.
Playing career
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
made an approach to sign McCormack in 2007, but he signed a five-year deal to stay with
Hibs.
He made his league debut for Hibs in a 4–1 win over
Kilmarnock in September 2007. McCormack was selected for the
Scotland under–21 squad for the match against
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
in May 2008. He was also selected for the match against
Lithuania in August 2008, but did not play.
McCormack made his first first-team appearance for Hibs in over a year in a 2–0 win against
St Mirren during January 2009, replacing the suspended
David van Zanten
David van Zanten (born 8 May 1982) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
Van Zanten was born in Ireland to a Dutch father and an Irish mother. Despite being born in Ireland, van Zanten has played his entire se ...
at right back. His appearances were limited during the 2009–10 season, making only six first team appearances as of February 2010.
He was
sent off
In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
during the last of those appearances, an
Edinburgh derby
The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any football match played between Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian (Hibs), the two oldest professional clubs based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The two clubs have a fierce r ...
match.
McCormack's contract was not renewed by Hibs at the end of the season.
After his release by Hibs at the end of the 2009–10 season, McCormack signed for
Scottish First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as ...
club
Ross County. He suffered a broken leg and was released by Ross County in September 2011.
McCormack signed for
Scottish Second Division
The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SFL ...
club
East Fife in January 2012. He made his debut on 2 January, in a 4–0 defeat against
Cowdenbeath
Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...
.
McCormack signed for
Airdrieonians
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie Unite ...
in July 2013, leaving the club in June 2014 to sign for
Brechin City
Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club ...
. After three seasons with Brechin, McCormack was released by the club on 30 May 2017. On 23 October 2017, McCormack was banned from competitive football until 7 April 2021 due to him failing an "in-competition test" in April 2017, when he was registered with Brechin.
McCormack had tested positive for use of metabolites of metandienone (epimetendiol, epitmetandienone and hydroxymetandienone).
Personal life
McCormack was arrested for an
assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cri ...
on
Hearts striker
Calum Elliot
Calum Elliot (born 30 March 1987) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played as a forward for Heart of Midlothian, Motherwell, Livingston, Dundee, Žalgiris Vilnius, Alloa and Raith Rovers. He also represented Scotland at you ...
on 22 March 2009, near an
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
nightclub. When the case came to
Edinburgh Sheriff Court
Edinburgh Sheriff Court is a sheriff court in Chambers Street in Edinburgh, within the sheriffdom of Edinburgh and Borders.
History
The new court was commissioned by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to replace the Old Sheriff Court i ...
, McCormack pleaded guilty to an assault charge, and was fined £1000.
The court was told that McCormack had
punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
ed Elliot in the face after Elliot had "made a deliberately antagonising remark to him about their respective football careers".
McCormack, who sent an apology to Elliot via his
agent
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...
, was also fined £1200 (two weeks' wages) by
Hibernian.
During February 2010, McCormack was arrested by police on
Leith Walk
Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchange ...
and charged with the offences of driving without
insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
and driving without a
licence.
He was subsequently banned from driving for 12 months and fined £500.
McCormack was charged with attempted murder in December 2017.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormack, Darren
1988 births
Living people
Footballers from Edinburgh
Scottish men's footballers
Scotland men's under-21 international footballers
Men's association football defenders
Hibernian F.C. players
Scottish Premier League players
Ross County F.C. players
Scottish Football League players
East Fife F.C. players
Airdrieonians F.C. players
Scottish Professional Football League players
Brechin City F.C. players
Scottish sportspeople in doping cases