Brian John Law (born 1 January 1970 in Merthyr Tydfil) is a Welsh former 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 ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

international.

Club career

Law began his career with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

making his debut against Sheffield Wednesday at

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

in the final game of the 1987 season, making a total of 20 appearances for the side before being forced into retirement in 1991 due to a tendon injury. Law spent three years outside of football on a backpacking trip around the world, before returning in 1994 after discovering his injury was able to withstand the rigours of professional football. He joined

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, who were required to pay £34,000 to Law's insurance company for the compensation he had received on retirement and £100,000 to his former club Queens Park Rangers. During his time with Wolves, Law was arrested after driving a bus while drunk, later receiving a fine and

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

. After initially beginning to establish himself in the first team, Law was forced to undergo ankle reconstruction surgery and never managed to regain his place in the side, eventually moving to

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

in 1997. He made 47 appearances as club captain in all competitions during his first season at

The New Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which i ...

and remained a regular in the first team at the start of the following season before a knee injury forced him out of the side after less than one month of the 1998–99 season. He was later released by Millwall in 2000, never playing professional football again.

International career

Law played for Wales U15 school boys, represented and captained the Youth team at U16, U18, U21s as well as the B team against England at Tranmere (5/12/90). Despite having only played a handful of games for Queens Park Rangers, Law was called up to the

senior squad in September 1988 (Holland) when, Rangers coach and Wales assistant manager,

Peter Shreeves Peter Shreeves (born 30 November 1940) is a Welsh former football player, manager and coach. Career Shreeves was born in Neath in South Wales where his mother had been evacuated to during the early stages of World War II, but was brought up i ...

recommended him to Wales manager

Terry Yorath Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), A ...

after an injury crisis had resulted in a large number of withdrawals from the squad. He was an unused substitute against Holland, Italy and Malta however, he was handed his debut on 25 April 1990 in a 4–2 defeat to Sweden. Law was recalled to the squad, after his 2-year retirement from the game, for the 3-1 defeat away to Bulgaria (29/3/95).

After football

Following his retirement, Law earned a degree in sports science after undertaking a three-year course at

Roehampton University The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Roehampton was formerly an e ...

. He later set up his own charities named Fit for Life and Sozo in 2003, designed to give teenagers in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

access to sports such as football, hockey and streetball as well as set up musical workshops, resulting in Urban Chart success, reaching Number 7 with 'Detention' Artist : C4 ft Romo.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Law, Brian 1970 births Living people Footballers from Merthyr Tydfil Welsh Christians Welsh footballers Wales international footballers Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Millwall F.C. players English Football League players Association football defenders