Francis Jeffers has been allowed to keep his job as a youth coach at Everton despite a conviction for sending an offensive and menacing message to his wife.
Jeffers, 38, was fined £625 and given a 12-month restraining order after admitting the offence on October 30. He sent a WhatsApp message telling his estranged wife Lucy that her life was over and she would not need many of her clothes as she would be in a coffin.
However, his Premier League club have confirmed Jeffers will remain part of their coaching set-up as they consider it a private matter. Everton would not comment further on whether they'd spoken to Jeffers about the case.
Jeffers was regarded as one of the best young strikers in England and dubbed a 'fox in the box' by Arsene Wenger after he signed for Arsenal from Everton in 2001.
He scored 22 goals in two spells at Everton and also netted on his only appearance for England but his latter career was affected by injury and he retired at Accrington Stanley in 2013 having also played in Scotland and Australia.
He was hired by Everton in 2016 as an academy coach to mentor the club's young forwards.
In court, magistrates' chair Peter Fisher noted Jeffers had seemed to show remorse and regret and said: 'It is hopefully something you can put behind you in the future.'