More like this
Steven Gerrard found not guilty of affray
A jury found the England international footballer acted in self-defence when he punched Marcus McGee three times
England footballer Steven Gerrard walked free from Liverpool Crown Court today after he was cleared of affray for his role in a bar brawl last December.
Gerrard, who had admitted to punching Marcus McGee three times in the incident, was found not guilty after the jury ruled that he had acted in self-defence.
The fight took place at the Lounge Inn in Southport, where Gerrard was celebrating Liverpool's 5-1 win over Newcastle, in which he had scored twice, with a group of friends. He had been drinking Budweiser and shots of Jammy Donut (a cocktail containing Baileys, raspberry liqueur and sugar syrup) and described himself as being seven out of ten on a scale of drunkenness.
After McGee, 34, refused to hand over a laminated card which listed the bar's music, the pair argued. Gerrard then became visibly angry and returned six minutes later. Then, Gerrard's friend John Doran elbowed McGee in the face.
As McGee toppled over, Gerrard said he thought he going to be attacked, and responded, in the words of the prosecution, "with a succession of well-aimed uppercut punches, delivered with the style and speed of a professional boxer, rather than a professional footballer".
After watching CCTV footage, Gerrard admitted that McGee, who lost a tooth in the fight which followed, was not about to attack him. "I am certainly mistaken in thinking he was coming towards me to throw punches at me," he said. "Now I know, obviously, he had been struck, reacted and thought the strike was by me and he came into me and that's when I reacted."
Six other defendants, including two Accrington Stanley footballers, pleaded guilty to affray and will be sentenced at a later date. ·
Comments are now closed on this article
Comments
I have no doubts that if the trial had taken place in a non-partisan location, that is, outside of Merseyside, he would have been found guilty. Verdict leaves a nasty taste in the mouth since jury members would have been known to Gerrard's often dubious friends. Nuff said.