Footballer jailed for breaking opponent's leg

A Sunday League footballer who deliberately stamped on an opponent's leg, breaking it in several places, has been jailed for a year.

Nathaniel Kerr, 24, pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to assault.

The 30-year-old victim, Stuart Parsons, had been arguing with one of Kerr's team-mates just before the incident in Stockport last August, the court heard.

Mr Parsons had reconstructive surgery on his right ankle and spent weeks in hospital after the assault.

The violent tackle happened two minutes into the first game of the season between Emigration FC and AFC Gold Cup in the Stockport Sunday league.

Mr Parsons, a defender for Emigration FC, said he had touched the ball just twice when Kerr lunged at him with both feet, dislocating his ankle and breaking it in two places.

As he lay in agony on the pitch off Jackson's Lane, Hazel Grove, Kerr shouted to a team-mate: "I've done this 'cos of you."

"It was a long jump-type lunge," the victim told BBC 5 Live. "I got to the hospital and they X-rayed it but they had to sedate me twice to reset it. I was in hospital for two weeks."

A self-employed window cleaner before the injury, Mr Parsons said his business "went down the pan" as a result.

He spent six weeks on crutches, "had to learn to walk again", and "still can't run on it or do any sport, a year on".

He continued: "You don't expect to get out of bed on a Sunday morning and for that to happen. People have their own actions, minds and aggression. You are never going to stop it."

Speaking of his assailant, Mr Parsons said: "We had heard stories through the pipeline and, as a team, had our eye on him from the beginning." 

PC Louise Spencer, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "This injury has had a catastrophic effect on the victim's life, meaning he has been unable to work or support his young family.

"He is self-employed and the injury meant he was forced to rely on the kindness of his team-mates, who arranged fundraisers and charity events to provide the financial support he needed," she added.

"All the while Kerr has shown absolutely no remorse for his vicious attack, calling the victim a 'wimp' and verbally abusing him as he was lying in agony on the pitch."

She said the arrest and prosecution showed "aggression and thuggery" during sporting fixtures will not be tolerated.