Ex-Walsall star Troy Deeney admits affray outside club

A former Walsall FC star has admitted affray after a fracas outside a Birmingham nightspot where four students were injured.

Striker Troy Deeney was among a group of men involved in a brawl which left one victim with a broken jaw and another with 20 stitches in his lip.

The 23-year-old, who now plays for Championship side Watford, admitted the charge of affray at Birmingham Magistrates Court yesterday.

Prosecutor Marni Chimber said CCTV showed Deeney kick one of the students in the head and then punch another.

Deeney of Keeper's Gate, Chelmsley Wood, was co-accused with three others, including his younger brother Ellis. Although all pleaded guilty to a charge of affray, the professional footballer was the only one to accept the prosecution's version of events.

The other three entered a guilty plea based on conflicting evidence which was not accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service. It could lead to another hearing where a judge will consider the facts before pressing ahead with sentencing.

Former Saddlers star Deeney was also initially charged with assaulting a police officer but this charge was dropped at the beginning of the hearing. Magistrates committed the case to Birmingham Crown Court for sentencing on June 12 due to the seriousness of the offences.

Miss Chimber said the incident occurred near Bliss nightclub in Broad Street at around 2.20am on February 29.

The others charged in connection with the affray were Oliver Brennan, aged 20, of Hazel Croft, Chelmsley Wood; 26-year-old, Marc Williams of Stonebridge Crescent, Kingshurst, and Ellis Deeney, aged 21, of Poplar Avenue, Chelmsely Wood. They were all granted conditional bail until the next hearing.

Troy Deeney started his career at Aston Villa but was released and slipped into non-league football. He was signed by the Saddlers in 2006 and joined Watford for a fee rising to £500,000.