Judge tells Liverpool star he will not go to prison for assaulting his girlfriend
A LIVERPOOL footballer who kicked his girlfriend in a prolonged assault will not be sent to prison, a judge has told him.
Jon Flanagan, 25, who played for England Under-21s, admitted common assault when he appeared at Liverpool magistrates’ court yesterday.
Liverpool have not said whether Flanagan, who earns £15,000 a week, will be subject to internal action.
The court heard he attacked Rachael Wall on Duke Street in the city centre on Friday, Dec 22.
District Judge Wendy Lloyd said she had been shown CCTV of the incident, in which Flanagan assaulted his partner several times and at one point kicked her.
The judge said: “This is a prolonged assault, not just one episode of violence.”
However, she told Flanagan to expect a community penalty and not a custodial sentence.
Lionel Greig, defending, said there had been no previous incidents of domestic violence in the relationship.
He said: “They want to hopefully just put this matter behind them and move forward in a positive way.”
He said both parties had been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
“This is a young man of no previous convictions,” Mr Greig added. “He is 25 years of age, he lives at home with his parents and he has been in a relationship with the complainant for some 18 months.”
The court heard the victim had not provided a statement.
Judge Lloyd asked for a pre-sentence report to be prepared by the Probation Service and warned Flanagan that he faced a community penalty. She said: “I need to be reassured that these circumstances will never be repeated again.”
The defender, who wore a black suit and tie, was given unconditional bail until Jan 17, when he will be sentenced. Liverpool-born Flanagan has made more than 50 first-team appearances since making his debut aged 18. He spent last season on loan to Burnley and has featured only once in the first team this season. Players who have committed criminal offences have been handed stiff penalties from their clubs in the past. Joey Barton, given a fourmonth suspended sentence in court in July 2008 for assault, was immediately suspended by Manchester City for the rest of the season, effectively ending his career with the club. In December 2008, Marlon King was arrested for sexually assaulting a woman in Soho.
He was sacked by Wigan after being jailed for 18 months.