Steven Gerrard sorry

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is no longer a sports player in trouble after a court cleared him of all charges in the bar brawl incident last year. Gerrard was with friends at a bar in Southport in the early hours of December 29, hours after scoring twice in Liverpool's 5-1 victory over Newcastle. When the bar owner refused to play his favorite music Steven says he was gutted and tried to gain control of the cd player in the bar. "He stood up quite aggressively out of his stool and I thought to myself 'I am not going to be able to sort this out in the way I wanted," Gerrard said of the bar owner McGee's attitude. "I thought he was going to give me a smack. He was shouting back and I didn't know what he was saying but he started arguing and I thought he was going to hit me so that's why I threw a punch."



Steven Gerrard, left, arrives at Liverpool Crown Court for the start of his trial accused of affray, Liverpool, England, Monday July 20, 2009. Photo: AP/PA, Peter Byrne. The millionaire star, standing next to his six co-accused at Liverpool Crown Court in a dark grey suit and black suede shoes, later took his place behind the glass sealed dock in courtroom 4:1 as Judge Henry Globe QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, adjourned the hearing for legal discussions.

Judge Henry Globe told the star that with hindsight he might agree it had been "unwise" of him to approach Mr McGee after a "trivial" disagreement about the choice of music. But he added: "However, that is a far cry from saying you were criminally responsible for the violence that thereafter erupted." CCTV footage of the incident showed that it wasn't Steven Gerrard who threw the first punch but his friend John Doran. The jury at Liverpool Crown Court accepted that he repeatedly punched Marcus McGee, a company director, in self-defence because he thought he himself was about to be attacked. The jury returned a "credible" verdict which left Mr Gerrard free to leave the courtroom "with your reputation intact".

A few days earlier Steven Gerrard had apologised in court for punching Mr McGee; now he told his supporters outside: "Can I just say how pleased I am with today's verdict. I'd like to put this case behind me. I'm really looking forward to the season ahead and to concentrating on my football now." And within hours of being cleared in court, Steven Gerrard made a surprise appearance at a match against Tranmere.