Gerrard Found Not Guilty


Recommended Posts

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has been cleared of affray after punching a man in a Merseyside bar.

The England midfielder admitted hitting Marcus McGee, 34, in the Lounge Inn, Southport, in December last year but denied the charge of affray.

A jury at Liverpool Crown Court agreed with Mr Gerrard's assertion that he was acting in self-defence.

Speaking after the hearing, the player said he had put it behind him and was looking forward to the season ahead.

Six friends of the 29-year-old footballer, of Formby, admitted charges connected with the brawl and will be sentenced on 7 August.

Mr Gerrard emerged from court to applause from waiting Liverpool fans and said he was pleased with the verdict.

"I'm glad to put this case behind me. I'm really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on football," he said.

"I'd like to say a big thank you to my legal team, my friends and family and everyone at Liverpool Football Club for supporting me."

Members of the jury took just over 70 minutes to find the Reds' captain not guilty.

Judge Henry Globe told him: "The verdict is a credible verdict on the full facts of this case, and you walk away from this court with your reputation intact.

"You did not start the violence, it was started by the violent elbowing of Marcus McGee in the face by one of your friends John Doran.

"At all times you insisted that you only ever acted in what you believed was reasonable self-defence to what you understandably, albeit you accept mistakenly, believed was an attempted attack upon you by Marcus McGee.

"What at first sight to the casual observer may seem to have been a clear-cut case against you of unlawful violence, has been nowhere near as clear-cut upon careful analysis of the evidence."

Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez, who is in Singapore ahead of the team's game against the national side there on Sunday, said: "We are really pleased.

"He is very important for us and he can now focus just on football.

"We are all pleased at the club and over here at the training camp. We have been supporting him all the time and were just waiting for the decision.

"Now he can concentrate just on football and hopefully play at the same level as last year."

Mr Gerrard had been drinking with friends in the early hours of 29 December last year to celebrate Liverpool's 5-1 win over Newcastle United.

CCTV footage from the bar showed the group drinking beer, downing shots and dancing round while chanting football songs.

But the trouble flared at around 0200 GMT when Mr Gerrard wanted to change the music on the CD player, but was refused access by the man holding the control, Marcus McGee.

Pulled away

Mr Gerrard told the court he had been trying to ask Mr McGee why he had a problem with him when the businessman "very quickly" got off his bar stool.

He said he "firmly believed" he was about to be punched, and swung out in self-defence.

Mr Gerrard was quickly pulled away by friends and told the court he was "sorry about the whole incident".

The victim lost a tooth and suffered cuts to his face in the ensuing violence.

Five of Mr Gerrard's friends admitted affray.

They are Ian Gerrard Smith, 19, of Hilary Avenue; John Doran, 29, of Woodlands Road; and Paul McGrattan, 31, of Linden Drive, all Huyton; and Accrington Stanley footballers Robert Grant, 19, of Enstone Avenue, Litherland; and Ian Dunbavin, 28, of Guildford Road, Southport.

Another friend, John McGrattan, 34, of Rimmer Avenue, Huyton, admitted threatening behaviour.

The six men are due to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on 7 August.

Source

Gotta say I am glad this is over and done with, although it will be interesting to see what sentences his friends receive. Although I don't condone what he did, I didn't think it was in his character to attack someone unprovoked

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/801666-gerrard-found-not-guilty/
Share on other sites

Money money money, must be funny.. to get out of charges because you're famous.

I believe Joey Barton would disagree with you there. Ok, he may not be as Gerrard, but he recently got sentenced to jail time. I don't believe Gerrard got away because he was famous at all, I believe he got away because what he said is the truth. I don't agree with what he did, but I don't believe it is in his character to just randomly attack someone for the hell of it.

I don't believe Gerrard got away because he was famous at all, I believe he got away because what he said is the truth. I don't agree with what he did, but I don't believe it is in his character to just randomly attack someone for the hell of it.

At the end of the day the only thing that matters if that he threw the first punch - if he was man enough he would've taken a sentence for it voluntarily. Unfortunately he isn't.

The trial was in Liverpool with Jurors from the area, what did everyone expect?

Justice wasn't done in this case and I feel sorry for the victim. Just goes to show that you can get off if you're famous enough.

They jury was from all over, not just Liverpool.

So if it was up to you every fight that happened in the UK would make its way to court? It only went to court in the first place because it was Gerrard!

It only went to court in the first place because it was Gerrard!

Not really.

The victim has the opportunity to press charges against the perpetrator. In this case charges were pressed and Gerrard was brought to court. Many people do not go to court due it being settled outside of it. Personally, I would tell everyone to take the defendent to court, it'll serve people like Gerrard right.

At the end of the day the only thing that matters if that he threw the first punch - if he was man enough he would've taken a sentence for it voluntarily. Unfortunately he isn't.

He didn't throw the first punch, his friends did, and if he felt like he was under attack, he was within his right to defend himself. It is not illegal to pre-emptively throw a punch if you feel you are under threat.

The victim has the opportunity to press charges against the perpetrator. In this case charges were pressed and Gerrard was brought to court. Many people do not go to court due it being settled outside of it. Personally, I would tell everyone to take the defendent to court, it'll serve people like Gerrard right.

You mean people that get found innocent? I thought your religious beliefs state that only God can judge someone, so what are you doing judging him when you don't have the evidence. The jury had all the evidence and evidently they didn't think he was guilty of a crime.

frank .....two words....you = tunnel vision

some people would have the decency to leave the religion thread out of the sports thread...

it wasnt self defence and yeh the only only reason it went to court ...was because it was gerrard(ie he is famous, and the victim could possibly got some civil payment out of it) AND it got thrown out becuase he was gerrard ..lol

as martyn said ...if it was two average ppl i doubt one would of charged the other for a sat nite scuffle.

it wasnt self defence and yeh the only only reason it went to court ...was because it was gerrard(ie he is famous, and the victim could possibly got some civil payment out of it) AND it got thrown out becuase he was gerrard ..lol

Really? do you have the evidence to prove that, or are you just working under the childish assumption that it is only possible that he got off because of being famous, rather than because there was actual evidence that he hadn't intended to commit a crime?

Really? do you have the evidence to prove that, or are you just working under the childish assumption that it is only possible that he got off because of being famous, rather than because there was actual evidence that he hadn't intended to commit a crime?

That's the thing though Frank, the "actual evidence" ie the CCTV footage can be interpreted in a number of ways, and perhaps luckily for Liverpool Football Club it was classed as self defence. I'm a big fan of Stevie, but there was no way it was self defence in my opinion, but if it wasn't Steven Gerrard the fight would not have gone to court in the first place.

Fights like this happen all the time in Liverpool. If someone was to go to the police and press charges they would have to keep looking over their shoulder next time they were out in town.

The way is see it is that Gerrard was hammered and fancied twatting some Manc who refused to adhere to his any request on bended knee.

That's the thing though Frank, the "actual evidence" ie the CCTV footage can be interpreted in a number of ways, and perhaps luckily for Liverpool Football Club it was classed as self defence. I'm a big fan of Stevie, but there was no way it was self defence in my opinion, but if it wasn't Steven Gerrard the fight would not have gone to court in the first place.

Fights like this happen all the time in Liverpool. If someone was to go to the police and press charges they would have to keep looking over their shoulder next time they were out in town.

The way is see it is that Gerrard was hammered and fancied twatting some Manc who refused to adhere to his any request on bended knee.

I don't see it that way, Its not really been in his nature to behave like that as well, not to mention that CCTV can only tell you what happened, not why it happened, but I guess we will never really know

That's the thing though Frank, the "actual evidence" ie the CCTV footage can be interpreted in a number of ways, and perhaps luckily for Liverpool Football Club it was classed as self defence. I'm a big fan of Stevie, but there was no way it was self defence in my opinion, but if it wasn't Steven Gerrard the fight would not have gone to court in the first place.

Fights like this happen all the time in Liverpool. If someone was to go to the police and press charges they would have to keep looking over their shoulder next time they were out in town.

The way is see it is that Gerrard was hammered and fancied twatting some Manc who refused to adhere to his any request on bended knee.

what she said.

as you say frank without audio is hard to tell the actual premise, but thats like knowing nature/personality of gerrard, how is it you know it isn't in his nature( when he is drunk), unless you know him personally....if you do know him then i take it back.

imo he got off dam easy...even if he was coaxed...he still threw a punch...atm if he was in aus, he would be out of a club,... but thats another story....

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Tor Browser 15.0.15 by Razvan Serea Protect your privacy. Defend yourself against network surveillance and traffic analysis. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. The Tor software protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world: it prevents somebody from watching your Internet connection and learning what sites you visit, it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location, and it lets you access sites which are blocked. The Tor Browser Bundle lets you use Tor on Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux without needing to install any software. It can run off a USB flash drive, comes with a pre-configured web browser to protect your anonymity, and is self-contained. Tor Browser 15.0.15 changelog: All Platforms Updated NoScript to 13.6.20.1984 Updated Tor to 0.4.9.9 Bug tor-browser#42436: Allow for multiple configured (front, reflector) domain fronting pairs in Moat module Windows + macOS + Linux Bug tor-browser#44997: Captcha doesn't work in TB desktop Linux Bug tor-browser#44886: Backport tor-browser#44361: Notify Linux i686 users that they won't receive updates anymore Download: Tor Browser (64-bit) | Tor Browser (32-bit) | 109.0 MB (Open Source) View: Tor Browser Website | Other Operating Systems Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Less disk space means less bandwidth demands which means lower operating costs for service providers... that's where money talks. ... cuz it's not about improving video quality!... that's just marketing spin.
    • And thereby lies the rub. AV1 support is not as wide as paid analysts would have the industry believe. With AV2 around the corner, it's going cause more time backlog in adoption (how many recent purchasers will upgrade yet-again within the next 6-12 months? most would rather stay pat for another 1+ years before even thinking about upgrading their setups).
    • Microsoft OneDrive is getting a simple yet much needed feature by Sayan Sen Microsoft has been steadily expanding OneDrive’s file management capabilities over the years, including for shared content and shortcuts, although it has had its flaws, too. The cloud storage platform introduced support for folder shortcuts several years ago, allowing users to pin frequently accessed shared folders from OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. Now, Microsoft is refining that experience further with a new way to organize those shortcuts as revealed in a recent Microsoft 365 roadmap addition. Previously, shortcuts added through the “Add shortcut to My files” option would appear alongside all other files and folders in the root of a user's OneDrive. And although it's meant to be useful, this approach could also create clutter along the way, especially for heavy users who may have to work with large numbers of shared folders across multiple projects and teams on their systems. This is where Microsoft’s latest feature comes in, as it is looking to address this inconvenience by giving users the option to place new shortcuts inside a dedicated “Shortcuts” folder instead. The feature is designed to keep shortcut links organized into a single location instead of scattering throughout the main OneDrive directory. Hence, the idea is to make navigation and usability easier and simpler. The first time a user chooses this option, OneDrive will automatically create the folder, and to help make it stand out from the other folders, the Shortcuts folder will have a distinct visual identity featuring a unique color and a building-style icon. That being said, the new Shortcuts will behave just like any other folder in OneDrive, and as such, users will be able to move it to a different location, rename it, share it with others, or remove it entirely if they prefer a different structure. You can view the entry on the Microsoft 365 roadmap website here. Currently, the feature is in the "in development" phase, but the tech giant expects the rollout to start next month (July 2026). Do keep in mind, though, that new feature rollouts often get delayed.
    • VS Code 1.123 introduces massive upgrades for persistent AI developer workflows by Paul Hill Microsoft has just released Visual Studio Code 1.123 alongside its annual developer conference, Build 2026. This release, as always, has a heavy focus on advanced AI agent integration and making the built-in browser more robust. Notably, this update brings big sync changes that keep your AI agents persistent across sessions. With this update, VS Code now supports cross-machine syncing for chat histories, touched files, repository contexts, and related PRs via GitHub accounts, tying users even more into Microsoft’s developer ecosystem. This update also introduces the new /chronicle command that allows you to query past sessions using natural language, generate instant standup reports, and get personal productivity insights. Microsoft has also made some improvements to network-dependent operations, it explains: “When a terminal command that is run by a local agent requires access to domains that are not configured as allowed domains, the command is automatically retried inside the sandbox with unrestricted network access. After that, if it still fails, it falls back to unsandboxed execution. This allows network-dependent operations such as git fetch to finish, while keeping filesystem protections in place.” Microsoft has not stopped there; in this update, it also allows developers to drag, drop, and pin multiple agent sessions side-by-side for easy code comparisons in real-time. It also introduces the Research Agent, accessible via /research. This is a read-only, depth-optimized tool that gets data from the web, local codebase, and GitHub to give you a Markdown report on complex APIs or unfamiliar code. Now, let’s talk about the integrated browser and some security enhancements. VS Code 1.123 features enhanced screenshot capture tools that allow for targeted Area Screenshots and Full Page Screenshots to send layout context instantly to AI chat. The address bar has also been revamped, supporting favorite pages and tab management. Finally, on the security front, this update introduces a safety-first two-hour delay on third-party extension auto-updates to safeguard against compromised or buggy releases. This release is now available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. If you have VS Code, keep an eye out for the update availability notification. If you still don’t have VS Code, you can get it here.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      B2Proxy earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Year In
      MadMung0 earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      jefred earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Apprentice
      JoeyNeo went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Week One Done
      oliviaexpo earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      482
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      227
    3. 3
      Skyfrog
      71
    4. 4
      FloatingFatMan
      60
    5. 5
      Nick H.
      54
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!