Soccer player in court for headbutt (From Oxford Mail)

Soccer player in court for headbutt

11:10am Wednesday 1st September 2010 in

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A PROMISING footballer headbutted a man in a pub after drinking six pints of lager, a court heard yesterday.

Samuel Elkins, 20, of Wantage Road, Wallingford, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm on November 22 last year.

Elkins, who has no previous convictions for violence and is the son of former Swindon, Fulham and Wimbledon FC player Gary Elkins, was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.

He was also given a 12-month supervision order, told to complete 250 hours of unpaid work within 12 months, and pay his victim £2,000.

Oxford Crown Court heard yesterday that Elkins, who has played for Abingdon United and has been on the books of Reading FC, carried out the assault in the Catherine Wheel pub in Henley.

Kevin West, prosecuting, told the court Elkins headbutted his victim Kourosh Dizaei, leaving him with a cut lip and a chipped tooth resulting in dental work costing £1,075.

Mr West added: “Mr Elkins accepted he had been drinking and that he may have headbutted the victim, but he really only remembers being restrained by others.”

Stephen Bailey, defending, said Elkins was “genuinely remorseful”.