Man attacked in Cardiff nightclub by a former New Zealand football player

A former New Zealand football player, has been found guilty of attacking a man in Cardiff nightclub Retro located in Mill Lane.

Luke Naughton, 42,  punched and head butted the man repeatedly, leaving the man with a broken nose, fractured cheek, and a broken tooth.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that he was in Wales on 30th October 2021, to watch a rugby match between Wales and New Zealand in Cardiff. Later, he went to the Mill Lane nightclub, where he approached a total stranger and touched her by putting his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder.

Wales Online reports that at the sentencing hearing, the woman said the touching was momentarily but she made it clear that she did not want to be touched by Naughton. Her friend witnessed the incident and went over to confront Naughton.

According to prosecutor Clare Wilks, the defendant and the other man had a heated conversation in which they were forehead to forehead until Naughton head butted him, causing him to fall to the ground. The defendant then mounted the victim and hit him in the face. It was said that the man was missing pieces of his teeth and was covered in blood due to blow to the face.

The woman who was involved in the incident, told the court in her victim personal statement that: “The incident has left me with a massive impact on my self-confidence. I used to feel comfortable going to busy bars and clubs but I no longer feel like that. I am nervous without the company of my fiancé or male friends. I was upset my friend intervened and for his trouble was seriously assaulted.”

The man who was attacked also said: “I woke up with blurred vision the next day. The experience has been horrifying for me and those closest to me. I have never been involved in an act of violence and I never expected something like this to happen. I felt low for a number of weeks.”

The defence, Stephen Ferguson said that his client was remorseful about the incident and that he had never been involved in anything like this before but that the defendant was “terribly in drink”.

Feature Picture Credit: Facebook

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