LONDON, ENGLAND (AFP) - MARLON King was sacked by Wigan Athletic after being jailed Thursday for 18 months following a conviction for sexual assault and actual bodily harm.

King was sent to prison for an incident in a London nightclub in December when, while he was on loan to Wigan's English Premier League rivals Hull, he groped a young woman and then broke her nose after she spurned his advances.

A striker with north-west side Wigan, King was found guilty of violently attacking a 20-year-old university student.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan told Sky Sports television King would be sacked after a mandatory notice period had expired.

'We have to follow the rules and regulations, which means we will have to give him 14 days' notice that his contract will be cancelled,' Whelan said.

'He is absolutely sacked - we will not tolerate football players who get sent to jail for 18 months. As far as we are concerned, he is finished with football at Wigan Athletic.'