A Dundee man was found guilty yesterday of assaulting a member of the other team during an amateur football match.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard a Lowson United player was injured as they played Kelso FC before half-time, leaving him with a broken nose, chipped tooth and bruising.
Kelso midfielder Harry Locherty (38), of Fernie Gardens, denied that on March 6, he punched Neil Robbie in the face to his injury.
Sheriff Ferguson found him guilty after trial, imposing financial penalties of £1000.
Mr Robbie (30), a welder, said he played in centre defence for Lowson United and was in Kelso’s box as his team took a corner.
The accused was holding on to his top and he told him to get off.
Locherty took hold of his top again, the ball went down the other end of the pitch and he turned to face the accused and told him again to get his hands off.
“He punched me in the face,” said Mr Robbie. “It came totally out of the blue.”
He fell to the ground but the referee did not see the incident as play had moved away.
The game was stopped once the referee saw him lying on the ground, he received treatment and the game resumed.
Mr Robbie said he sustained a broken nose, chipped tooth, severe bruising to the eye and numbness to the teeth.
He had his nose straightened after the swelling went down and still had three numb teeth.
Cross-examined by solicitor W. Boyle, Mr Robbie said he thought he had been punched rather than hit with an elbow.
He knew that “jostling and shoving” was part of the game, had been sent off and booked, but never pulled at a top, as it was a foul.
He agreed Locherty had not been censured in any way as the referee did not see it.
Lowson player Scott Nicoll said he saw the accused punch Mr Robbie and him fall to the ground, clutching his face.
Lowson United goalkeeper Christopher Kinmond said he was facing where the incident took place.
As play moved towards him, the accused came from Mr Robbie’s blind side and punched him.
“His nose was squint and there was a lot of blood,” said Mr Kinmond.
When cross-examined, Mr Kinmond said he did see accused use a clenched fist and was “100%” sure it was a deliberate act.
A chartered accountant, Locherty told the court he had never been in trouble in his life.
As to this match, he had no antipathy towards anyone or was aware of none towards him.
At the point Mr Robbie was injured, “I didn’t deliberately punch him,” Locherty said.
“I tried to break free. I had no intention to hurt anyone and was not conscious of a harsh blow being struck by me.”
He suggested it could have been his elbow or shoulder that caused the injuries, adding that he had “no conscious awareness” of hitting anyone.
He denied that “a red mist” had descended.
Sheriff Ferguson found that there had been a deliberate act of assault and that it was “a severe blow.”
He took into account Locherty’s previous good character, fined him £400 and ordered him to pay £600 compensation to Mr Robbie.