A former Dundee United footballer has been ordered to pay compensation to police he fought in a drunken rammy.
Allan Smart struggled with four officers in the unsavoury incident at an address in Barnhill last summer.
He has been told to pay £1,000 to the officers involved.
The 50-year-old had been charged with assaulting his wife and another couple during the heated episode on June 8 2024.
However, Smart was cleared by a Dundee sheriff who said he was not satisfied of Smart’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Assault denied
Smart and his wife Leigh had been drinking earlier in the day and had been invited to Susan and John Wright’s home on Fettercairn Drive.
Perth-born Smart, who played at Tannadice in 2002-2003, said matters took a twist after his wife intimated she wanted to leave.
He claimed Mrs Smart kicked him after a joke about a “tantrum” while the pair had a been in Qatar.
“She swung her right foot and caught me by surprise,” Smart told his trial.
“I pulled back and put my hand on her forehead. I kept her at arm’s length.”
This was contrary to evidence presented by the Wrights, who had also been drinking on the day.
They alleged Smart seized his wife’s head, twisted her and pushed her back.
Smart, who became emotional during parts of his evidence, claimed Susan Wright had a “little dig with her left foot” at him before he was “rugby tackled” by her husband.
When asked by defence solicitor David Holmes if he punched Mr Wright, Smart said: “I never lifted my hand to him.
“I didn’t try to punch anybody.”
Police struggle
One of the police officers who attended the scene noted red staining on the wall of the hallway and a strong smell of alcohol.
Smart denied throwing a bottle of wine from a Co-Op bag during the melee but could not account for what happened to it.
The court heard how Smart, who described himself as self-employed, began banging on the door and window, which eventually broke, after the Wrights prevented Mrs Smart from leaving because of fears for her safety.
Smart began to resist being arrested by four officers and was eventually taken to the ground prior to being placed in a police van.
The former footballer repeatedly complained to police about being unable to bend his right knee in the van because he had undergone seven operations
Mrs Smart, 51, was accused by fiscal depute Michael Robertson of telling a “pack of lies” after defending her husband throughout her evidence.
She alleged it was the Wrights who were the aggressors.
Compensation order
Former striker Smart spent the majority of his footballing career in England, with spells at Preston North End, Carlisle United and Watford – the latter propelled to the Premier League in 1999 after he scored the winning goal in a play-off final.
Smart, of Nimrod Street, was found not guilty by Sheriff Gregor Murray of pushing Leigh Smart on the head, punching John Wright on the head and pushing Susan Wright on the head.
He was convicted of smashing the window, with the sheriff removing any reference in the charge to smashing a wine bottle.
Smart struggled with PCs Kenny Petrie, Mark Reid, Darren Halley and Euan Ramsay in order to evade lawful arrest.
He was ordered to pay each officer £250 compensation.
In 2016, Smart was convicted in Swindon Crown Court of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after biting off a chuck of a friend’s ear in a pub brawl and was given a community sentence and compensation order.
He later spoke of his terror of being sent to prison.
He was at United for a single season, making two starts, not scoring and being sent off in a Dundee derby.
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