I�m so glad assault rap was Kirked out

[ian1964 10,411]

RANGERS star Kirk Broadfoot last night told of his joy after being cleared of an assault charge.

 

And the Ibrox ace, 26, thanked QC Paul McBride - who has represented Celtic and the club's boss Neil Lennon - for his help after a not proven verdict.

 

The Scotland defender had been accused of attacking businessman Andrew Nicol, 31, at a flat in Ayr last May.

 

After being cleared at the town's sheriff court delighted Broadfoot said: "I'm just glad the truth has come out.

 

"I've had this hanging over me for over a year. I am obviously relieved it's all over.

 

"I'd like to thank my legal team of Paul McBride and solicitor Liam O'Donnell."

 

Nicol, who runs a steel components firm, claimed Broadfoot was one of a group of men who confronted him outside his girlfriend's flat at 3am. He claimed he was pushed and shoved, and added: "After that Kirk Broadfoot swung for me and hit me on the face."

 

Mhairi Hepburn, 35, said she slapped the footballer in the face after watching him assault her boyfriend.

 

Her friend Kerry McKenzie, 27, said she also saw the footballer punch Mr Nicol.

 

And all three witnesses said they heard Broadfoot threaten to "get" Mr Nicol, his girlfriend, his car and his house.

 

But when cross-examined by Mr McBride, they couldn't explain why they omitted to mention the threats in their initial police statements. Broadfoot told the court he'd been a victim rather than villain. He explained he and five pals had gone to the house because they thought there could be a party there.

 

He said Mr Nicol ran out of the flat to confront a pal who had "chapped" the window.

 

The player claimed Mr Nicol had been drinking and was being aggressive. Broadfoot told the court: "He said to me, 'You come back when you have one of them.' He was pointing to his Porsche.

 

"I replied, 'I have got one of these, wee man. That's your daddy's car anyway.'" Broadfoot said it was during this "banter" that Ms Hepburn punched him on the nose "out of the blue". He then called Mr Nicol a "fat wee b******".

 

Ms Hepburn received a warning letter from the fiscal after she was charged with assaulting the star.

 

Returning a not proven verdict on Broadfoot's assault charge, Sheriff Norman McFadyen said he had found it "significant" all three Crown witnesses had failed to mention the specific threats to cops. He found Broadfoot not guilty of a breach of the peace charge.

 

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