Adam Johnson was reinstated in the Sunderland team after initially being suspended following a meeting with the club and the PFA, it has emerged.

The club said his suspension following his arrest in March last year was "appropriate at that time, even though he had not then been charged with any offence".

But two weeks later, the suspension was lifted after a meeting between the club and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) and after 'independant legal advice'.

A club statement said they "reached this decision only after carrying out a safeguarding assessment and liaising with relevant agencies". 

Before pleading guilty to grooming and kissing a 15-year-old fan, winger Adam Johnson continued to play for Sunderland.

In court evidence was heard that suggested club bosses knew he would admit the offences.

However, the club say they thought he was planning to contest all the charges, a stance he maintained right up until the first day of his trial.

In a statement, external, Sunderland AFC said they "only became aware of the change of plea, in relation to two of the four counts on the indictment, on the first day of the trial, after hearing it reported through the media".

It adds: "The club was not advised in advance that Mr Johnson would plead guilty to any offence. Had the club known that Mr Johnson intended to plead guilty to any of these charges, then his employment would have been terminated immediately."

Nick Barnes
BBC Newcastle's Sunderland commentator

Adam Johnson has been found guilty of a child sex offence and cleared of a further charge, after he also admitted sexual activity and grooming the schoolgirl.

Following his arrest, Johnson continued to earn £60,000 a week playing for Sunderland AFC until his last-minute guilty plea - an admission which saw him accused of waiting until the court case began so he could maximise his career and earnings.

I feel the club left itself open to accusations of being blind to the seriousness of the charges brought against him.

I don't accept the argument that suspending him is an indication of guilt.

By definition electing to go to trial means there is a doubt over the outcome so therefore the club should have taken the stance 'if in doubt leave him out'.

Sunderland AFC have "refuted in the strongest possible terms" any suggestion they let Adam Johnson play for the club while knowing he would plead guilty to child sex charges.

The disgraced former winger was suspended when he was arrested last season but reinstated and helped the club avoid relegation.

He was sacked on the eve of his trial after pleading guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child and one charge of grooming.

Image source, AFP

But a club statement said: "It is understood that a suggestion was made that the club knew all along that Mr Johnson was intending to change his plea just before trial to enable him to continue to play football for the club and that the club may also have been involved in tactical discussions about the plea. 

"This is utterly without foundation and is refuted in the strongest possible terms. The club never placed any pressure or demands on Mr. Johnson to play football during this process."

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

Adam Johnson was a highly gifted but inconsistent player who failed to fulfil the potential that saw him win a Premier League title medal with Manchester City in 2011-12 and persuaded Sunderland to pay £10m to sign him later that year.

Blessed with pace and unpredictability, as well as the knack for a spectacular goal, he also should have done more on the international stage with England, for whom he won 12 caps but - as with his clubs - 

Johnson could never produce his natural gifts on a regular basis.

It would seem he is now lost to the game at the highest level forever without ever becoming the high-quality player many thought he had the capability to become.

Police have released photos of Adam Johnson's Range Rover which he used when meeting up with a 15-year-old schoolgirl. 

Image source, Durham Police

Image source, Durham Police

Johnson had previously admitted kissing and grooming the girl in the car when they met in January last year.

Today he was found guilty of sexually touching the girl, but was cleared of another count of sexual activity in which the girl claimed she performed oral sex on him. 

Adam Johnson has been told a jail sentence is "the almost inevitable outcome" after he was convicted of sexual activity with a child.

Judge Jonathan Rose issued the warning as he granted Johnson bail until the sentencing hearing, which will be held at a later date. 

"There is a very high probability of a significant custodial sentence," judge said.

The judge said his preliminary view was that the case falls into the category of a five-year prison sentence with a range of four to 10 years.

There was no obvious reaction to the verdict from Johnson, who was sitting in the dock with two security guards.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson has been convicted of one count of sexual activity with a child.

Image source, Durham Police

Johnson had previously admitted grooming and kissing the 15-year-old Sunderland fan, but denied two further counts of "more serious" sexual activity.

Today the jury found him guilty of sexually touching the girl. 

He was found not guilty of a second count, in which the girl claimed she'd performed oral sex on him.

Former England footballer Adam Johnson has been found guilty of a further count of sexual activity with a child.

He was cleared of one count earlier this afternoon.

The jury has heard Adam Johnson met up with the girl on 30 January 2015 after agreeing to sign football shirts for her. 

The player admitted kissing the teenager but told the jury the encounter "went no further". 

The girl told the court the former winger "put his hands down her pants" and she performed oral sex on him. 

The jury has found him not guilty on the oral sex charge but are still deciding on a charge involving the sexual touching. 

Image source, Getty Images

The jury in the trial of Adam Johnson has been sent out to continue deliberating on the remaining count of sexual activity with a child after he was cleared of one count.

Former Sunderland and Middlesbrough footballer Adam Johnson has been found not guilty of one count of sexual activity with a schoolgirl.  

Image source, PA

The jury has yet to reach a verdict on a second count of sexual activity.   

The 27-year-old had previously admitted to one count of sexual activity and grooming.  

Daggers and samurai swords were stolen in a burglary at Mystic Magic in Murray Street in Hartlepool.

The raid happened between Monday night and early yesterday morning.

An attempted burglary also took place at The Phone Shop next door, but nothing was stolen.

BBC Tees
BBC Tees Sport

Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson says last night's defeat by Blackburn may be down to the fact they did not 'want' the victory as much as Rovers.

Boro missed the chance to go top of the Championship as they lost 2-1.

"A lot of us have got to take a long hard look at ourselves. We should never lose a game because we didn't want it as much as the opposition and I don't think we did," Gibson told BBC Tees.

Image source, Allsport/Getty Images

BBC Tees
www.bbc.co.uk/BBCTees

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a man in Eston.

Cleveland Police say they believe the 22-year-old who died is Lee Pettite from Woodcock Close in Bankfields, but formal identification has not yet taken place. 

He was found with "serious and significant" chest injuries after he staggered to Oakley Walk in Eston where he was treated by paramedics, police said.

Two teenagers have been arrested after a break in at the Elswick Health Centre in Newcastle.

The building in Meldon Street was broken into at about 21:00 yesterday, and police attended and found two youths on the roof.

They tried to get them down but they started throwing objects at the officers and passers-by.

A small cordon was set up around the area. Later two 14-year-olds were held on suspicion of burglary.

BBC Sport

With 100 days to go before the start of Euro 2016, BBC Sport looks back at 10 great goals scored in the European Championship.

It includes a rather famous goal scored by a former Newcastle and Middlesbrough midfielder...

Police are concerned about a missing Gateshead woman.

Susan Harland, 52, and from the Felling area, was last seen this morning at about 10:00 at Fewster Square.

Image source, Northumbria Police

Police say they're extremely concerned for Susan's welfare and are appealing for her to contact them, or her family, as soon as possible.

She is believed to be wearing jeans, a grey jumper with a heart on the front and a grey padded jacket which has fur on the hood.

BBC Sport

Steve McClaren has described Newcastle as "the most frustrating side I've ever worked with".  

The Magpies are 18th in the Premier League, having won six games and lost 14 this season.

McClaren said it was "one extreme to the other" as his side were "fantastic" in beating West Brom last month, seven days before losing 5-1 to Chelsea.

Image source, Getty Images

McClaren, 54, has also managed Middlesbrough, FC Twente, Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest, Derby and England.

Many of those spells have been marked by unpredictability. Last season, Derby topped the Championship in February after eight wins in 11 games, only to finish eighth after winning just two of their last 13 matches.

Newcastle are away at Stoke tonight in the Premier League.

Rebecca Turner
BBC North East

Our colleagues at BBC Look North have shared this photo today of some Llamas that they took while filming in Teesdale.

They've invited people to help name them.

So far, suggestions have included Wolfgang, Shredder, Betty, Gary, Mark and Howard.

If you'd like to add your suggestion, you can do so here on Facebook, external.