March 8, 2001

March 8, 2001 (Tuesday) From Yahoo!

Woodgate denies he attacked Asian student

By Rebecca Harrison

HULL, England (Reuters) - Leeds United footballer Jonathan Woodgate has denied he was involved in a vicious attack on an Asian student and said he "regretted" Sarfraz Najeib's injuries.

But prosecutors, cross-examining the 21-year-old on Thursday at the court in Hull, northern England, said Woodgate had constantly lied to police about his actions on the night of the attack.

Defender Woodgate and midfielder Lee Bowyer were among a group of men who set upon Najeib in central Leeds in January 2000 and beat him unconscious, the prosecution told the jury.

Starting the defence case Woodgate, 21, said he had followed a group of his friends when they ran off from outside a Leeds night club because he was "just being nosey".

"I didn't know what was going on. My mates were running so I ran with them," said Woodgate who was constantly asked to speak up by the trial judge.

"I saw Lee Bowyer run past me. Then I fell over on my ankle, it was extremely painful."

SCENE SHOUTING

Woodgate, who has played once for England, said he heard shouting from the scene where prosecutors say the gang were attacking Najeib, then 19.

"I could hear shouting but I could not hear what it was about. I hobbled down there to see what was going on," he said.

"I could see people fighting ... a lot of people were throwing punches and kicks ... I couldn't make out who was doing what."

When asked by his lawyer David Sumner if he was involved in the fight, Woodgate said: "No."

A witness told the court earlier she had seen Woodgate jump into the air and down hard on Najeib's senseless body. Asked whether this evidence was true, Woodgate said: "No."

Woodgate, Bowyer, Paul Clifford and Neale Caveney face jail if they are found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and affray. They deny the charges.

In a vigorous cross-examination, prosecuting counsel Nicholas Campbell picked over Woodgate's account of the night of the attack and said he had lied consistently.

Campbell said the footballer had initially failed to tell police about his fall and injured ankle.

"You lied throughout your interviews and you lied to police about what happened that night ... you know what went off."

"Afterwards all you could think about was how to avoid any of you being arrested by the police. Since that time, all you have done is give misleading evidence and lied to police and to this court, and that is the truth."

COCKTAILS

Woodgate said he and his friends had drunk seven or eight vodka-based cocktails at a number of bars that night.

"I knew I'd had a drink but I wasn't mortal drunk," he said.

Woodgate said he regretted Najeib's injuries. When asked by police why he had not stayed to help the injured man after the attack, he had said he saw a group of Asians caring for Najeib, who suffered a broken leg and nose.

Campbell said Woodgate must therefore have been on the scene at the end of the attack. "I wasn't there at the end," Woodgate said.

Woodgate said he hobbled back to the nightclub where he met Leeds defender Michael Duberry. Duberry, 25, is accused of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice as is Woodgate.

CAR SICK

Doormen at the club barred Woodgate from re-entering so he and his friends tried to get a taxi back to their hotel.

Woodgate, who lives with his family in the north-east of England, said Duberry offered the group a lift but ended up taking them to his home outside Leeds because one of Woodgate's friends was sick in the car.

"I'd have been embarrassed to take him back to the hotel," Woodgate said. Duberry initially told police he went home alone but later retracted his statement.

Woodgate said his friend was then sick on Duberry's white sofa. He said another friend, Clifford, who prosecutors say bit Najeib on the cheek during the attack, changed his clothes at Duberry's house because they were stained with vomit.

Leeds reserve player Tony Hackworth walked free from court on Wednesday after being cleared of involvement in the attack on Najeib. The trial in Hull, 50 miles east of Leeds in northern England, is in its fourth week of evidence.

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