Gerrard charged over bar assault

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has been charged by police with assault and affray over a brawl outside a bar that left a DJ in hospital with facial injuries.

Merseyside police announced the star had been charged early on Tuesday — 24 hours after Gerrard was arrested in Southport.

Gerrard had been celebrating Liverpool's emphatic 5-1 victory at Newcastle on Sunday that extended the Reds' lead atop the Premier League to three points.

The 28-year-old Gerrard was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray — an offence that carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.

He was released on bail to appear in court on January 23 with John Doran, 29, and Ian Smith, 19, who were charged with the same offences.

Three other men, who were arrested with Gerrard at 2:30 a.m. Monday morning, were released without charge on police bail pending further inquiries.

In the altercation outside the Lounge Inn, the bar's 34-year-old DJ had a tooth broken and sustained cuts to his forehead, although he was later released from a hospital.

The Lounge Inn, a modern restaurant that becomes a nightclub later in the evening, is in the seaside town of Southport, less than 10 miles north of Gerrard's home in Formby in Merseyside.

Gerrard, Liverpool's most influential player, has played 70 times for England, captained Liverpool to the Champions League title in 2005 and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.