Accused claims single punch was in ‘self-defence’

COURT: Man tells trial he reacted after former Dundee FC player pushed him after tempers flared on night out in city

The man accused of assaulting a footballer with a single punch so severe it scuppered his hopes of playing professionally said he reacted in “selfdefence”.

Robert Chambers said he had approached John Black, a former Dundee FC player, to ask “what was happening” after tempers flared when two groups of young men met on a night out in Dundee.

The groups were entirely unknown to each other before the incident – which left Mr Black in a coma for 10 days and resulted in him having a section of his skull removed.

Chambers, of Craigmount Road, Dundee, denies assaulting John Black on Old Hawkhill in the city on October 8 2017. He admitted punching Mr Black in the early hours of October 8, but claimed he did so in self-defence.

Mr Black revealed his career chances were over following the incident and that if he headed a football it could be fatal.

Evidence was given at the second day of a trial against Chambers, 24, at Dundee Sheriff Court yesterday.

What caused the interaction between the groups to turn “sour” was not ascertained.

Chambers said: “I walked towards the two groups on Old Hawkhill and asked what was going on.

“I wasn’t aggressive and Mr Black seemed OK at the time.

“I walked further down the road and that’s when he pushed me and I took a step back.

“I felt I was in a position I couldn’t back out of.

“Mr Black stepped towards me and I reacted and I hit him.

“I never meant to hurt him, it was a split-second decision. As soon as I did hit him I turned and walked away. I was panicking. I felt very anxious.”

Under cross examination from depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson, Chambers was asked if he was making his account of the situation up, to which he replied no.

Ms Robertson and defence solicitor Anne Duffy both presented their final submissions to the jury.

Ms Robertson branded Chambers a “liar” and that he had struck Mr Black “in cold blood”.

Ms Duffy said: “It was a single punch with catastrophic consequences for Mr Black and the defence cannot escape that. Had Mr Black got up and walked away afterwards, we would not be here today. Mr Chambers perceived a danger, he told you, the jury, that Mr Black had pushed him.”

The trial continues today.

John Black was in a coma for 10 days and has a metal plate in his head.