A footballer accused of attacking a nightclub bouncer told a court in London yesterday that he had "lost it" in a fracas but claimed it was because the doorman had verbally abused him.
Dublin-born Wimbledon player Des Byrne (21) said bouncer Mr Trevor Thirlwall (28) insulted him for being Irish and then punched him several times in the head in an unprovoked assault.
The defender admitted throwing a bottle in the street afterwards but claimed it was because he was "frustrated and angry" after being attacked. He denied aiming it at anyone.
Byrne is accused of attacking Mr Thirlwall with his friends, Chelsea footballers John Terry and Jody Morris, at the exclusive Wellington club in Knightsbridge, central London, on January 4th.
Terry is accused of hitting Mr Thirlwall in the face with glass during the attack, alleged to have been launched after the players were ejected from the club for unruly behaviour.
Giving evidence on the ninth day of the footballers' trial at the Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court in London, Byrne said he could not understand why they had been thrown out of the club. "When the doorman said the things he said, I lost it a little bit."
He described trying to get back into the club.
"One of the doormen turned round and said 'Just go home you f------ Irish prick'. I got a little angry. It just came out of nowhere."
Mr Byrne said he tried to go through the doorway into the club so he could be "face to face" with the doorman to tell him he was "out of order".
He claimed one bouncer, Mr Shaun Brice, then grabbed him before Mr Thirlwall started punching him. He said: "The doorman gave me a dig in the head, I fell backwards out of the doorway, I wasn't expecting a punch. I was angry and I just wanted to get back in and tell him he was out of order."
When Byrne went back through the doorway, a scuffle broke out. "I was shitting, just frightened now. I remember getting a dig then behind my left ear, I remember being on the floor then flat on the floor. I got up and just wanted to get away, to be fair.
"I was trying to get away and I saw three of them attacking John. John had Mr Thirlwall on him now, he was scrapping with John, I remember John swinging his hand and he caught Mr Thirlwall in the face with a dig. I thought, to be honest, great dig."
Byrne said Terry did not have a bottle in his hand at the time.
When the fracas broke up, Byrne saw a bottle lying near his feet. He said he threw it towards Mr Thirlwall, Mr Brice and Mr Thirlwall's brother Matthew, who is a professional boxer and was also involved in the melee, but denied intending to hit them.
He said: "I was upset and I was frightened, there were loads of things going through my mind, to be fair. I was in the middle of Knightsbridge with no top on, I had a few digs in the head. I didn't want my club to know I had been out the night before training and had a couple of drinks."
Byrne was arrested at the scene and interviewed at Belgravia police station, where he told officers he had been drunk. However in court he claimed that he had not been drunk and that he had only had two vodka lime and lemonades all evening.
He claimed the three were just "having a craic" when they were asked to leave.
Terry denies wounding Mr Thirlwall with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon. Byrne denies possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon and all three players deny affray.
The trial continues today.