The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Former Dundee and Raith striker denies hitting ex-girlfriend
COURT: Woman alleges Frenchman slapped her on the face with the back of his hand after she threw out-of-date steak into the bin
Former Dundee and Raith Rovers striker Christian Nade backhanded his ex-girlfriend in the face because she binned an out-of-date steak, a court heard yesterday.
Laura Kennedy said the Frenchman, who was capped by France at under-21 level and now plays for Dumbarton, subjected her to domestic abuse while she was reeling over the death of her grandmother.
The 28-year-old said Nade hit her with a boxed toy car and assaulted her on a third occasion because she threw out a sauce he had made at the flat they shared in Kirkaig Avenue, Renfrew, near Glasgow.
The details emerged as Nade went on trial at Paisley Sheriff Court.
He denies six charges, all alleged to have happened between December 5 last year and March 11 this year.
Miss Kennedy, who is the niece of Dumbarton assistant manager and former Rangers star Ian Durrant, told the court Nade first hit her on December 5 last year following an argument about a steak that had been in the fridge for so long it was going green.
She said: “I remember it was the start of December because my gran had just passed away.
“The first time was because I had thrown out food from the fridge, and because I never apologised he hit me.”
She added: “He hit me in the face with the back of his hand.
“It was the right-hand-side of my face, it was my cheek and my ear.
“I had a red mark on my face.” She told the court Nade hit her again a week later with the toy car and then on a third occasion after she threw out a sauce he had made as she was cleaning the kitchen.
“He was getting ready to go to the football,” she said. “I was in my living room putting my make-up on.
“He had just came back from France and had been so good and I thought things were starting to change but things just changed with the click of a finger.”
Nade’s solicitor Alan Gravelle suggested it was Miss Kennedy who had been the aggressor on each occasion, lashing out after finding out that Nade had been cheating on her with other women, but she refuted the claim.
“It was me that had the sore face, not him,” she added.
Nade denies the alleged assaults. He also denies shouting and swearing and acting aggressively towards Miss Kennedy, threatening to kidnap a child, and scaring or alarming Miss Kennedy’s parents Ann and Lawrence Kennedy, by acting aggressively and intimidating them at a property in Tay Avenue, Renfrew, on Mother’s Day last year.
He also denies assaulting Mr Kennedy, 60, to his injury.
Nade, who has also played for Hearts, Hamilton Accies, Stranraer, Annan Athletic and Sheffield United, is being prosecuted under the name Christian Herman’zaro Nade.
The trial, before Sheriff Craig Harris, was adjourned until August.
The first time was because I had thrown out food from the fridge, and because I never apologised he hit me