Ben Stokes mocked by two gay men for his gold-encrusted shoes moments before he knocked out two clubbers, court hears
Ben Stokes was mocked by two gay men for his gold encrusted shoes moments before he knocked out two clubbers, a court heard.
A jury at the 27-year-old's trial for affray was taken through footage of his white trainers being pointed at by Kai Barry and William O'Connor, who Stokes is accused of having mocked for being "flamboyant" and "camp".
Gordon Cole QC, representing Stokes, asked doorman Andrew Cunningham, a key witness, whether Mr O'Connor and Mr Barry were laughing and joking about his client's shoes.
Referring to the CCTV footage, Mr Cole said: "They are pointing down towards Mr Stokes's shoes. Did you hear any conversation about shoes and Mr Stokes's shoes having gold locks on the back of them?"
Mr Cunningham said he did not, but the jury is still waiting to hear Stokes' full version of events.
The cricketer is accused of knocking out his fellow defendants Ryan Hale and Ryan Ali, who he claimed had been homophobic towards Mr Barry and Mr O'Connor.
Jurors at Bristol Crown Court was taken through video footage in forensic detail. CCTV also shows Stokes and England teammate Alex Hales - who had been refused re-entry - waving at the club's security cameras before tempers flared.
Andrew Cunningham, 37, in charge of door duties at Mbargo on Bristol's Clifton Triangle, described Stokes as "spiteful" and a "bully" for picking on Mr Barry and Mr O'Connor, describing them as "two little guys".
Stokes, Mr Hales, Mr Barry and Mr Ali were outside the club after 2am before Ali and Hale walked out.
The doorman said he could see "no friction" between Mr Barry and Mr O'Connor as they walked away from the scene with Ryan Hale and Ryan Ali. But moments later, a fight ensued.
The court heart how two bottles were involved in the incident - one was held by Ali, and further footage showed Hale with another. Both Stokes and Mr Hales were unarmed.
Mr Cunningham, who is bald, with tattoos on his face and gold teeth, said Stokes initially singled out Mr Barry and Mr O'Connor because they were "a bit more demonstrative... flamboyant".
He told jurors: "The ginger guy picked up on this, he started to mimick their actions. He didn't actually speak, he made noises to sound like them.
"He was making stupid sounds and camp hand gestures."
Mr Barry and Mr O'Connor were "not impressed" when Stokes mocked them, but the pair "waited at the side for two other lads to come out", Mr Cunningham said.
"When he flicked the cigarette at him, that's when I interevened. I said if you want to start something start on me.... they hadn't done anything wrong. They were only little guys.
"When I said that, his friend (England teammate Alex Hales) looked confused, and he turned round to his friend and said 'Stokesy, don't do that'."
The doorman, who also has tattoos on his neck and hands, said Stokes and Hales had repeatedly asked to get back in after showing up after closing time.
Key allegations from yesterday's proceedings
- Stokes verbally abused doorman after refusing entry
- Stokes "mocked" gay men Mr Barry and Mr O'Connor
- England cricketer accused of flicking cigarette at them
- Ali and Hale left the club and started talking to gay men
- Mr Barry appeared to touch Ali's groin inappropriately
- Armed with a bottle, Ali made contact with Mr Barry
- Stokes then charged at Ali, knocking him out
- Hale "armed himself" with metal pole and was punched by Stokes
Last entry was 2am and "once they leave they cannot re-enter.... it's part of our licence," Mr Cunningham told the court.
"If we let people in after those hours we lose our jobs," he added.
He told the court he did not like cricket, adding, of Stokes and Hales, that "I didn't know they were famous".
"The ginger one offere me 60 pound. I said it wouldn't get him in. Then he asked his friend, and they offered me £300.
"I said no, I wouldn't have a job to go back to in the morning. Stokes got angry at this, he claimed.
"First of all he mentioned he mentioned my teeth...I have gold teeth. Then he told me I looked like a c***... then he mentioned my tattoos, how s*** they are.
"I said 'thank you'... it doesn't matter. I don't rise to it. I'm quite thick skinned like that."
Mr Cunningham added: "He had quite a spiteful tongue, quite and angry tongue."
Stokes and other England internationals had been drinking in Mbargo earlier. "They were as good as gold," he said of the players' initial behaviour.
Mr Cunningham said he had met Mr Barry and Mr O'Connor on several ocassions over the years as they had frequented clubs he had work at in the Park Street area.
When Mr O'Connor and Mr Barry eventually walked away from the club with Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale " they just chatted outside and there was no friction between them", Mr Cunningham claimed.
Mr Cunningham had refused to shake Stokes' hand before he left shortly later with Hales. He said: "He shook my buddy's hand. He then went to shake mine. I had no reason to shake his hand."
Cross-examined by Stokes' defence lawyer Mr Cole, it was suggested that it was Mr Cunningham being "aggressive", and that Stokes, Mr Hales, Mr Barry and Mr O'Connor were seen laughing and joking together in "banter" outside the club.
Mr Cunningham did not agree with the assessment. Stephen Mooney, representing Ali, asked the doorman whether Stokes and Mr Hales treated him with "respect and courtesy".
He said they did not. When asked whether Stokes had clearly been drinking, Mr Cunningham told the court: "Not excessively, no. He didn't seem drunk."
Yesterday the jury was told how the sports star mocked a gay man and flicked a cigarette butt at his head before knocking two men unconscious in a fight near a nightclub in Bristol.
Stephen Mooney, representing Ryan Ali, asked Detective Constable Daniel Adams, who led the case, whether there was anything that could explain why Stokes had flicked a cigarette butt at Mr O'Connor.
Det Con Adams replied: "No." Mr Mooney asked: "Would you describe that action as joking?" Det Con Adams said: "No."
Stokes, 27, is accused of punching Ryan Hale, 27, to the ground and then allegedly knocking out Ryan Ali, 28, a short time later during the fracas.
While outside, Stokes started speaking with Mr Barry and Mr O'Connor, and shortly after at 2.23am, the prosecution say Ali and Hale are seen on CCTV leaving the nightclub and walking off with Mr Barry and Mr O'Connor after the four men had started chatting.
The footage allegedly shows Stokes and Mr Hales catch up with the group, and Mr Barry appeared to touch Ali inappropriately on his groin, before returning and trying to take his arm.
Ali pushed Mr Barry away "with no significant force" before Stokes "charged" over to the group, Mr Corsellis said.
The jury heard only the defendants know how the alleged fight started but Ali raised a bottle as if to hit Mr Hales, instead making "glancing contact" with Mr Barry's shoulder.
Stokes then threw a punch at Ali, with both men falling to the ground. Mr Corsellis said all of those present, except for Stokes, then wanted the situation to stop - with Mr Hales telling him "Stokes, Stokes, that's enough".
Hale pulling a metal pole from a street sign before running back to the group, an eye witness said.
The incident was also witnessed by off-duty special constable Mark Spure.
Doctors diagnosed Ali with a fracture to the left of his face, a swollen left eye and a laceration above his eyebrow. He also had a cracked lower left molar.
Hale sustained a 1.5 inch superficial laceration and bruising to his forehead, consistent with blunt force trauma.
"Mr Stokes had no obvious injuries save for an area of swelling over the metacarpals on his right hand," Mr Corsellis added.
The Durham cricketer was arrested at the scene and the officers' body-worn footage captures Hale saying that he did not wish to press charges as Stokes "ain't done anything to me".
"The footage also captures Mr Hales stating that he was not present during the incident, contrary to the CCTV footage," Mr Corsellis said.
"When being told by the officers the reason for his arrest, Stokes said that he had acted in the way that he did: 'Because he was abusing my two friends for being gay'."
He claimed he saw Ali and Hale speaking to the two gay men in a "harsh and abusive" way that was homophobic in nature, and denied being abusive or flicking a cigarette.
Prosecutors allege that Stokes was not acting in self-defence, but with "revenge, retaliation or punishment in mind".
Stokes, of Stockton Road, Castle Eden, Durham; Ali, of Forest Road, Bristol; and Hale, of Burghill Road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, each deny a joint charge of affray.
The trial continues.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...-cricketer-arrives-court-day-two-affray-case/
Acting like English youth in Mallorca 
