Paul Shinners

Paul Shinners (born 8 January 1959) is a preacher, exorcist, spiritual healer, proponent of the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act and former footballer who played as a forward in the Football League for Gillingham, Colchester United and Leyton Orient.

Paul Shinners
Personal information
Full name Paul Shinners[1]
Date of birth (1959-01-08) 8 January 1959[1]
Place of birth Westminster, London, England[1]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Fisher Athletic
1984–1985 Gillingham 4 (0)
1985 → Colchester United (loan) 6 (1)
1985–1989 Leyton Orient 77 (32)
Barnet
Total 87 (33)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Born in Westminster, London, Shinners began his career at Southern League club Fisher Athletic, where he hit over 200 goals and finished as the league's top scorer in the 1983–84 season, alerting Gillingham who signed Shinners in October 1984.[2] Shinners also holds the Fisher Athletic record of most career goals for the club with 205 goals scored.[3]

Shinners made just four appearances for Gillingham in the 1984–85 season, starting just one game.[2][4] Colchester United manager Cyril Lea took Shinners on loan in March 1985, with his debut delayed until mid-April due to injury.[2] His debut finally came on 16 April 1985 in a 1–1 away draw at Torquay United.[5] Shinners scored one goal in six games for the U's,[6] coming in the penultimate game of the season, a 3–2 defeat to Port Vale at Layer Road on 6 May 1985.[7]

Shinners left Gillingham for Leyton Orient in the summer of 1985 where he was top scorer for the club in his first season with 19 goals in all competitions. Following this, he suffered numerous injuries, rounding off his stint with the O's with 32 goals in 77 league games.[2][8] He then joined Conference side Barnet in January 1989, later becoming a fitness education consultant after hanging up his boots.[2]

After selling dance machines to schools in conjunction with Pulse Fitness, Shinners now runs a café and Christian bookshop in St Neots, Cambridgeshire under the umbrella of his "Passion for Souls Ministries" charity. He has made frequent trips to Africa (particularly Uganda) over the last decade as an Evangelical preacher.

He was embroiled in controversy regarding a trip to Uganda in December 2012, when Ugandan newspaper, The Daily Monitor,[9] alleged that he had spoken in favour of the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 also known as the "Kill the Gays" Bill.[10][11][12][13][14] Shinners denied his involvement and support for the Bill, however video footage later came to light that proved he supported the death penalty for homosexuals.[15][16][17][18][19]

References
  1. "Colchester United – Player profile". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  2. Whitehead, Jeff; Drury, Kevin (2008). The Who's Who of Colchester United: The Layer Road Years. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-85983-629-3.
  3. "Fisher Athletic Club Info". Fisher Athletic Info and History. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  4. "GILLINGHAM:1950/51–2011/12". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  5. "Colchester United – Match details – Torquay United 1–1 Colchester Utd". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  6. "COLCHESTER UNITED:1950/51–1989/90 & 1992/93–2011/12". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  7. "Colchester United – Match details – Colchester Utd 2–3 Port Vale". Coludata.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  8. "LEYTON ORIENT:1946/47–2011/12". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  9. http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Calls-to-pass-the-anti-gays-Bill-dominate-New-Year-messages-/-/688334/1655670/-/11vv8ob/-/index.html
  10. "Why has Paul Shinner's homophobic Passion for Souls Ministry not be stripped of its charitable status?". Center for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights. 14 March 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014.
  11. Corinne Pinfold (28 January 2013). "Cambridgeshire: Cafe owner calls for apology over allegations of support for Ugandan anti-gay bill". PinkNews.
  12. Andrew Papworth (23 January 2013). "St Neots café owner demands apology from bloggers over "defamatory" comments". Hunts Post 24.
  13. Joseph Patrick McCormick (9 January 2013). "Cafe owner denies speaking at Ugandan anti-gay rally, attempts to stop protest". PinkNews.
  14. Joseph Patrick McCormick (17 January 2013). "UK: Cafe owner accuses gay campaigners of targeting him for a 2nd time over Uganda trip".
  15. "Homophobic UK Evangelical Paul Shinners speaking in favour of the DEATH PENALTY for Homosexuals 6MIN". Youtube.
  16. Barry Duke (27 June 2014). "Finally nailed! The lying Paul Shinners". The Free Thinker.
  17. Nathan, Melanie (25 June 2014). "Video Proof that UK Christian Extremist Shinners Supported Kill the Gays Bill". O-blog-dee-o-blog-da. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  18. Unknown (25 July 2014). "Stop Uganda's Anti-Gay Legislation: FULL VIDEO of Paul "Kill the Gays" Shinners Speaking in Uganda". Stop Uganda's Anti-Gay Legislation. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  19. Unknown (25 June 2014). "Stop Uganda's Anti-Gay Legislation: VIDEO Showing Homophobic UK Evangelical Speaking in Uganda". Stop Uganda's Anti-Gay Legislation. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
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