Celebrating ... Steven Gerrard, hours after match
win, in the bar before trouble started.
Brow beaten ... DJ Marcus McGee, 34,
tries to keep injury under his hat.
Aftermath ... blood spots on floor of bar after
fight in early-hours.
England footballer Steven Gerrard "totally lost it" and
hit a man "with the style and speed of a professional boxer" during
a row over music, a court heard today.
The Liverpool captain launched the assault on businessman Marcus
McGee, 34, after the victim refused to hand over control of a CD
player at a bar last year, it was alleged.
The 29-year-old was with friends at the Lounge Inn, in
Southport, Merseyside, in the early hours of December 29 when his
party clashed with McGee, a member of another group.
Today, David Turner QC, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court
that Gerrard asked McGee for a card controlling the CD player,
saying: "Here y'are lad. Give me that lad."
Mr Turner said: "Mr McGee took offence at his attitude and the
expression 'lad' and he refused. "Not many people on Merseyside, or
indeed anywhere else, would refuse a request from Steven Gerrard
but Mr McGee did.
"There can be no doubt that this refusal astounded Steven
Gerrard. "He walked away back to his party but the CCTV shows how
much his mood had changed. "He was no longer the centre of that
high spirited party. "He was clearly walking around pondering,
musing over what had happened - about the man who said 'no' to
Steven Gerrard."
After about six minutes Gerrard returned to the victim who was
sitting alone at the bar and allegedly confronted him with the
words: "Who the f*** do you think you are?"
Mr McGee, who was not a DJ but was in charge of music for the
night, stood up to Gerrard, Mr Turner said. The pair were head to
head, he said, "in the sort of hostile confrontation that is often
seen between professional footballers".
The barrister added: "Steven Gerrard had clearly lost his cool:
he was angry with Marcus McGee." The situation attracted the
millionaire's friends. One, John Doran, who has admitted affray,
pushed McGee away but "could not resist following through with his
right elbow into Mr McGee's face", said Mr Turner.
"We say at this stage Gerrard totally lost it. "Almost
immediately after the blow from John Doran, in fact within seconds,
Steven Gerrard joined in the attack with a succession of well aimed
uppercut punches delivered with the style and speed of a
professional boxer rather than a professional
footballer."
Mr Turner said there "was no doubt" that Gerrard struck Mr McGee
and said the issue for the jury to decide was whether he was acting
in self defence. He said: "Steven Gerrard is a world class
footballer. He has the honour to be captain of Liverpool FC and to
play for England. "He is a star. He is Liverpool born and bred and
here on Merseyside is a hero.
"Wherever you go in Liverpool and indeed in the world there are
little boys proudly wearing a Liverpool shirt with No 8 and the
name Gerrard on the back of it. "We do not say that Mr Gerrard is
normally an arrogant man, we don't say that he is a bully.
"What we do say is that that night he just lost his self control
and joined in an attack which should never have taken place. He let
himself down."
The jury watched CCTV footage which showed Gerrard and his
friends dancing and singing football songs and downing shots in The
Lounge Inn at around 3am.
Real time and slow motion footage was played of the footballer
talking to Mr McGee at the bar for 23 seconds, then Doran elbowing
him, and then Gerrard throwing punches.
