Jury fail to reach verdict in trial of footballer accused of kneeing opponent and causing 'split kidney'
A jury in the trial of a former professional footballer accused of assaulting another player during a five-a-side game has failed to reach a verdict.
Petru Pinto (50) was alleged to have to taken a running jump at Paul Ceusan (35), kneeing him in the torso. Mr Ceusan suffered a split kidney as a result of the incident.
The defendant, of Bellgree Boulevard, Tyrrelstown, Dublin, pleaded not guilty to assaulting Mr Ceusan causing him harm at an astroturf pitch in Ellenfield Park, Santry, Dublin, on November 16, 2012.
After just under three hours a jury of four men and eight women at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court told Judge Pauline Codd they were unable to reach a verdict on which ten or more of them agreed. The case was put back to December 10 for mention.
During the trial this week the jury heard that both men are members of Transylvania FC, a club set up by Pinto and friends for Romanians living in Dublin.
In his evidence, Mr Ceusan alleged that Pinto ran in an aggressive manner and leapt at him, dropping his knees into his torso. He said that he was not on-the-ball, that is engaging with the ball in play, at the time and that the incident had taken place after a verbal dispute over a tackle.
Mr Ceusan suffered a Grade 4 renal injury, or a split kidney, requiring a stent to be inserted from his kidney to his bladder.
'Off the ball'
Another player Alexandru Nichifor told the court that the incident was “off-the-ball”.
Mr Pinto testified that it was not an off-the-ball incident and that it happened when both himself and Mr Ceusan were both running for the ball and collided in a tackle.Mr Pinto told the court the tackle had nothing to do with a verbal exchange some ten minutes earlier, when he says Mr Ceusan insulted his mother, whom he considers a “saint”.
During the trial, Mr Ceusan took the stand and said there had been a verbal argument between himself and the accused over a disputed foul.
He said Mr Pinto got very verbally aggressive but that he didn't read too much into it as it was a competitive game and “he (Pinto) usually tended to be that way”.
The jury heard that the game was played to a high standard and was competitive. The complainant told Dominic McGinn SC, defending, that it was common for players to become aggressive during the game, saying that Mr Pinto “wouldn't be the only one”.
