Soccer: Liverpool’s Gerrard charged with assault after incident at bar
Published 10:44 pm Monday, December 29, 2008
LONDON — Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was charged with assault and affray by police early Tuesday over an alleged brawl outside a bar that left a disc jockey hospitalized with facial injuries.
Merseyside police announced the charge early Tuesday — 24 hours after Gerrard was arrested in Southport while celebrating Liverpool’s emphatic 5-1 victory at Newcastle on Sunday that extended its lead atop the Premier League to three points.
The 28-year-old Gerrard was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray — an offense that carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.
He was released on bail to appear in court on Jan. 23, 2009, with John Doran, 29, and Ian Smith, 19, who were charged with the same offenses.
Three other men, who were arrested with Gerrard at 2:30 a.m. Monday morning, were released without charge on police bail pending further inquiries.
In the altercation outside the Lounge Inn, the bar’s 34-year-old DJ had a tooth broken and sustained cuts to his forehead, although he was later released from a hospital.
The Lounge Inn, a modern restaurant that becomes a nightclub later in the evening, is in the seaside town of Southport, less than 10 miles north of Gerrard’s home in Formby in Merseyside.
The other men held are not believed to be soccer players but are from the Huyton area of Liverpool, where Gerrard grew up and was spotted by Liverpool scouts at the age of eight playing for Whiston Juniors.
Gerrard is Liverpool’s most influential player and crucial to its bid to win the English league title for the first time since 1990, scoring twice and setting up another goal in Sunday’s win.
Gerrard, who has played 70 times for England, led Liverpool to the Champions League title in 2005 and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
