EX-GERS STAR IN BRAWL OUTSIDE PIZZA SHOP
Phone footage shows former Ibrox idol and a pal fighting in the street with two men
FORMER Rangers idol Nacho Novo was filmed raining blows on a man’s head in a brawl outside a takeaway.
The 40-year-old and a pal clashed with a pair of revellers following a night out on Saturday.
It’s believed one man had his ear bitten in the melee, which was captured on camera and shared online.
The shocking footage – which can be viewed on the Record’s website – shows the Spanish-born striker, who became a cult hero at Ibrox after his 25-goal debut season sealed a 2005 league and cup double, lashing out repeatedly after his friend grabbed their victim.
A man believed to be a friend of Novo’s is seen holding the man and pulling his hood over his head at the window of Stefanos, a takeaway pizza restaurant in East Kilbride’s Hunter Street. Novo then leaps in and delivers blow after blow to the man’s head.
Bystanders can be seen and heard trying to bring the violence to an end.
In the footage, Novo and a woman then fall onto the middle of the road. He then gets to his feet and walks towards another man further down the road. Novo approaches one of the men at the junction with Main Street and Stuart Street, outside the area’s Tinto Tapas Bar.
The striker – who also played in Scotland for Raith Rovers, Dundee and Greenock Morton – is held back by three women and a man, and the warring groups then head their separate ways. The clip shows onlookers shouting “Nacho” and “Gary”.
It’s understood Novo and some friends had been drinking in pubs around the area.
A source said: “Nacho and his pals had been having a few drinks in pubs nearby. There was a falling out with these other guys, words were exchanged and the whole thing happened from there. One of the guys seems to have got a bad ear injury after his ear was bitten.
“Nacho was like a man possessed, attacking the first guy then going up the street after the second guy.”
Inspector Aidan Higgins, of East Kilbride Police, said: “We have received no reports regarding this incident. We are making inquiries.”
Novo’s Twitter account later posted laughing emojis underneath the video.