Sunderland sack Johnson after child sex charge admission
LONDON (Reuters) - England international Adam Johnson has been sacked by Premier League Sunderland after he pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child, the club said on Thursday.
"In light of Adam Johnson's guilty pleas, the club has today terminated his contract with immediate effect," Sunderland said in a statement. "The club will make no further comment."
Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child, but denied two other charges, when he appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old winger, who has played 12 times for England, also admitted one count of grooming a girl under the age of 16, a court official said.
Johnson, who began his career at Middlesbrough and also played for Manchester City, joined Sunderland for 10 million pounds ($14.46 million) in 2012 on a four-year contract.
He has been a regular for the Premier League side this season and scored in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool last week.
The case is expected to last for two weeks.
(Reporting by Toby Davis; Editing by Pritha Sarkar and Mark Lamport-Stokes)