Player booted girlfriend on drunken date night
LIVERPOOL player Jon Flanagan yesterday admitted kicking his girlfriend on a drunken night out.
The 25-year-old was caught on camera assaulting mother-of-two Rachael Wall with a “serious degree of violence”.
The incident happened in Liverpool’s Duke Street at around 3.20am on Friday, December 22.
Both Flanagan and Ms Wall – who had been in a relationship for 18 months – had been drinking at the time, the court heard.
District judge Wendy Lloyd said CCTV showed Flanagan assaulting his partner on “several occasions” and kicking her at one point.
She told Liverpool magistrates: “I have been given a detailed breakdown of that CCTV footage which shows you assaulted this young lady not just once but on several occasions, once involving your foot.” Lionel Greig, defending, asked for the case to be dealt with immediately and said the victim had not provided a statement and there had been no history of domestic violence. But the judge replied: “It is not that simple in domestic violence... this young lady has been shown a significant degree of violence.” She told Flanagan, who admitted common assault, he would face a community penalty. “I need to be reassured that these circumstances will never be repeated again,” the judge added. Flanagan was given unconditional bail and will be sentenced on January 17.