Post by sweet soul on Jan 23, 2009 11:57:29 GMT
England footballer Steven Gerrard has been granted bail after pleading not guilty to charges of assault and affray.
The 28-year-old, who is captain of Liverpool FC, was charged in December in connection with a nightclub brawl in the seaside town of Southport in Merseyside.
He appeared in Southport magistrates court alongside fellow defendants Ian Smith, 19, and John Doran, 29, both from Huyton, Merseyside.
All three were granted bail and are due to return on March 20 for committal to Crown Court.
Gerrard was driven to the court and jogged up the steps dressed in a dark blue suit while dozens of photographers were kept back from the court entrance in a penned area.
The star was arrested in the early hours of December 29 after a disturbance at the Lounge Bar nightclub in Southport.
Company director Marcus McGee, 34, from Churchtown, Southport, required hospital treatment after receiving facial injuries in the incident.
Gerrard, a father of two who is married to model Alex Curran, was at the bar with friends to celebrate Liverpool's 5-1 win over Newcastle United earlier that day.
He and five others were arrested outside the venue and spent more than 20 hours at Southport police station.
Gerrard was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray along with Doran and Smith.
The Reds captain emerged from today's half-hour hearing to thank photographers and a handful of supporters.
Merseyside Police had cordoned off the court with steel riot barriers after a "Support Stevie G" group was set up on the social networking site Facebook.
Police sources said they had expected several hundred supporters to turn up and defended their decision to close the actual court to the public on safety grounds.
news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Steven-Gerrard-Pleads-Not-Guilty-Over-Brawl-Charges-In-Southport-Nightclub/Article/200901415209119?lpos=UK_News_First_UK_News_Article_Teaser_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15209119_Steven_Gerrard_Pleads_Not_Guilty_Over_Brawl_Charges_In_Southport_Nightclub
The 28-year-old, who is captain of Liverpool FC, was charged in December in connection with a nightclub brawl in the seaside town of Southport in Merseyside.
He appeared in Southport magistrates court alongside fellow defendants Ian Smith, 19, and John Doran, 29, both from Huyton, Merseyside.
All three were granted bail and are due to return on March 20 for committal to Crown Court.
Gerrard was driven to the court and jogged up the steps dressed in a dark blue suit while dozens of photographers were kept back from the court entrance in a penned area.
The star was arrested in the early hours of December 29 after a disturbance at the Lounge Bar nightclub in Southport.
Company director Marcus McGee, 34, from Churchtown, Southport, required hospital treatment after receiving facial injuries in the incident.
Gerrard, a father of two who is married to model Alex Curran, was at the bar with friends to celebrate Liverpool's 5-1 win over Newcastle United earlier that day.
He and five others were arrested outside the venue and spent more than 20 hours at Southport police station.
Gerrard was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray along with Doran and Smith.
The Reds captain emerged from today's half-hour hearing to thank photographers and a handful of supporters.
Merseyside Police had cordoned off the court with steel riot barriers after a "Support Stevie G" group was set up on the social networking site Facebook.
Police sources said they had expected several hundred supporters to turn up and defended their decision to close the actual court to the public on safety grounds.
news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Steven-Gerrard-Pleads-Not-Guilty-Over-Brawl-Charges-In-Southport-Nightclub/Article/200901415209119?lpos=UK_News_First_UK_News_Article_Teaser_Region_3&lid=ARTICLE_15209119_Steven_Gerrard_Pleads_Not_Guilty_Over_Brawl_Charges_In_Southport_Nightclub
