Everton striker Thierno Barry had his home burgled on Thursday night while he was scoring in the Toffees' 3-1 Carabao Cup win over Newcastle United — the third time a Premier League player's home has been targeted during a match this month.
Barry's partner, Charlene, confirmed the break-in in a statement posted on social media, reported by the Mirror and Daily Mail Sport on Friday morning. Nobody was home at the time, but the family have offered a financial reward for information that helps identify those responsible.
She wrote: "Sadly, our home was burgled this evening while we were at the football match. Fortunately, nobody was home at the time, but that is still an extremely distressing and violating experience for us and our family. If anyone has seen or heard anything suspicious, or has any information that could help, we'd be extremely grateful if you could get in touch. We're also ready to offer a financial reward for any information that helps identify those responsible."
A night of triumph on the pitch
While the break-in was happening, Barry was producing one of his best performances in an Everton shirt in the 3-1 victory over Newcastle at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. James Garner opened the scoring on 34 minutes, Barry crossed for Hayden Hackney to double the lead on the stroke of half-time, and the Frenchman then put the tie beyond doubt on 69 minutes — his seventh goal in 11 appearances this season — before Dan Burn headed a late consolation for the visitors.
The win, achieved without the dropped Grealish, sent Everton into a quarter-final at home to Fleetwood Town on December 15. Barry could not have known, as he celebrated in front of the home fans, what was waiting for him when he got home.
Gibbs-White and Fernandes targeted too
Barry is not the first Premier League player to suffer this month. Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White's family home was also burgled a few days ago, his partner Britney De Villiers revealed on Tuesday. She said she had not planned to share the news publicly but felt it important to warn others after hearing of another break-in since, urging people to keep security systems on whether they are in the house or not — and noting how horrible it feels knowing someone has violated your home, especially with young children.
And last week, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes saw his home ransacked by masked robbers during United's 4-1 defeat to Como. Cheshire Police said officers were called at around 8.30pm on Wednesday 21 October to reports of suspicious activity at an address in the Alderley Park area of Nether Alderley, where three unknown men had been seen in the rear garden of a neighbouring property. Officers found a burglary had taken place and many items had been stolen.
So what does it mean?
Three break-ins at footballers' homes in a single month, each timed for when the player was known to be away playing a televised match, is a pattern the Premier League and its clubs cannot ignore. Fixture lists are public, kick-off times are advertised weeks in advance, and players' absence from home is effectively confirmed the moment the team news drops. Expect clubs to step up security advice and provision for players and their families, and expect more players to think twice about what they share about their homes on social media.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Barry did everything right on Thursday night — a goal, an assist and a man-of-the-match display — and was rewarded by coming home to a crime scene. That is the ugly flip side of the modern footballer's visibility: everyone knows exactly where you are, and exactly when your house is empty. One incident is bad luck; three in a month is a warning the game has to act on. Should Premier League clubs be doing more to protect players' homes on matchdays? Let us know in the comments.
