Soccer: Student witness breaks down at trial of soccer stars
A student cried as he told a court how he heard his friend being attacked by a group alleged to include Leeds United footballers.
The student told Hull Crown Court he had been on a night out with the victim, Sarfraz Najeib, 20, when they were involved in a confrontation outside a Leeds nightclub.
The witness said inside the Majestyk club he had noticed a man he recognised as Leeds defender Jonathan Woodgate with a group of men.
Woodgate and fellow players Lee Bowyer and Tony Hackworth are alleged to have been among the group who chased Mr Najeib and his friends before an assault in which he was kicked and punched unconscious.
Mr Najeib's friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said that as they left the club he noticed Woodgate leaning against railings outside. There were also a group of seven or eight men nearby, one of whom said something to Mr Najeib's brother Shahzad.
He said he next heard a scream and saw Sarfraz Najeib holding his head, before running up to one of the group and seeming to punch one of them.
The witness said: "I panicked and I ran towards where we had parked the car. I feared they would attack us. I was really scared. I thought they would come after us and get us."
He said as he reached the bottom of Mill Hill where their car was parked he turned into the street.
The student started to tell the jury: "As I got to the bottom I could hear screaming...".
At that point he broke down in tears and the trial judge, Mr Justice Poole, ordered a
short adjournment.
Woodgate, 21, of Middlesbrough; Bowyer 24, of Leeds; Hackworth, 20, of Leeds; and Neale Caveney and Paul Clifford, both 21, of Middlesbrough, deny causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Najeib, of Rotherham, They also deny affray.
Woodgate, Caveney and Clifford, with Leeds United player Michael Duberry, 24, also plead not guilty to conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
