Former Liverpool and Bournemouth footballer Jordon Ibe has been charged with a criminal offence after allegedly attempting to obtain sleep medication using fraudulent prescriptions.
The Allegations Against the Footballer
Jordon Ibe, now 30, is accused of using a bogus prescription on two separate occasions in May 2024. The alleged incidents took place at the Hornsey Road pharmacy in north London. Court documents state the former winger first presented the purported fake prescription on 24 May 2024, seeking the insomnia drug Zolpidem.
He is then alleged to have returned to the same pharmacy just four days later, on 28 May, in an attempt to obtain more of the medication. On this second visit, a suspicious member of staff seized the prescription, leading to the investigation.
Court Hearing Adjourned After 'Blissfully Unaware' Claim
Ibe was formally charged with possessing or controlling an article for use in fraud. He was due to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court for the first time to answer the charge.
However, his solicitor, Claire Reid, informed District Judge Denis Brennan that Ibe had been "blissfully unaware" of the pending case. She explained that the charge letter had been sent to his family home in Southwark, south London, just before Christmas 2025, shortly after he had moved to Bulgaria to join first division side Lokomotiv Sofia.
"Mr Ibe lives in Bulgaria, he is a professional footballer and he is not likely to be released from his duties," Ms Reid told the court. She requested a six-month adjournment until the Bulgarian football season's summer break, which the judge acknowledged was a "big ask".
Risk of Extradition Warrant Issued
Judge Brennan agreed to adjourn the hearing, but only for four weeks until 5 February. He warned that Ibe could apply to attend via video link, subject to approval from the court and Bulgarian authorities.
The judge issued a stark warning, stating: "The problem he faces is if he doesn’t appear before the court, having got four weeks’ notice, the risk he takes is that the court issues a warrant for his arrest, that gets turned into an extradition warrant and he is potentially extradited from Bulgaria."
Ibe, who made 78 appearances for Bournemouth between 2016 and 2020, has not yet entered a plea to the charge. After leaving the Premier League, he spent two years in non-league football before securing his move to Bulgaria in November 2025.
