Anton Cleared

West Ham's Anton Ferdinand has been cleared of assaulting a man outside Faces Nightclub. Ferdinand had admitted to punching Emile Walker but had claimed it was in self-defence.

CCTV footage showed Emile Walker being attacked by up to eleven people. Ferdinand claimed that he had acted out of self-defence when he hit Walker, partly because he was scared after having been mugged the year before. He also claimed that he was acting to protect a friend.

Nigel Reo-Coker appeared as a character witness for Ferdinand. Reo-Coker had been at Faces Nightclub on the night of the incident but was not involved in the assault on Walker.

Ferdinand denied a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of affray.