Foul Footballer broke opponent’s nose with punch

VIDEO playback would have proved very useful to the referee of an amateur football match in Bristol. As it was, when a player punched an opponent in the face and broke his nose, the ref didn’t see it and he wasn’t even sent off. But the incident prompted a criminal charge which was dealt with off the field. Ricky Pope, 30, a roofer of Binmead Gardens in Hartcliffe, denied wrongdoing but was convicted by a jury of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on Jake Lawrence. Judge Michael Harrington handed him a two-year community order and ordered him to pay £1,200 compensation. The judge told Pope: “It is plain that what happened had a substantial impact on Jake Lawrence. “It is a serious matter and a prison sentence is something I’ve considered closely. “What you did was out of character. “I hope very much this is the last time you appear in the dock in any court.” The case centred on a match in March last year at Cutters Friday Football Club in Whitchurch. The game was between the Cutters, captained by Pope, and Cribbs FC for whom Mr Lawrence played at number 11. After a Cribbs player was chopped down, Mr Lawrence remonstrated that there was no need for that kind of play, the court heard. With that Pope inflicted a single blow to his face, which was not seen by the match official. The Bristol Post understands the assault was reported to the Somerset Football Association. Alistair Haggerty, prosecuting, read an impact statement from Mr Lawrence. He stated: “When I was punched in the face I was very shocked. “I had never been punched in the face before. “I couldn’t believe someone could do something like that.” As a result of his broken nose Mr Lawrence had to breathe through his mouth for five days and couldn’t eat. He said his departure from sport changed his whole lifestyle, resulting in him switching from playing football to coaching youngsters. Edward Hetherington, defending, said his client was a father-of-three whose youngest child was just ten days old. He said Pope was a hard-working man who had behaved appropriately while playing football for some 20 years. Mr Hetherington said: “He does not intend to go back to football.”