Fan 'punched woman' at cup final

Some Spurs fans were in the Leicester City end during the 1999 cup final

A Tottenham Hotspur fan allegedly launched a vicious attack on a female Leicester City supporter minutes after the kick-off for last year's Worthington Cup Final, a court heard.

Jonathan Edmonds, 31, of Slough, Berkshire, denies a charge of affray and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Ruth Lelacheur, 30, was allegedly punched in the head at Wembley Stadium on 21 March 1999, suffering bruising to the back of the ear and damage to her teeth, a jury at Harrow Crown Court heard.

A lot of Leicester fans started shouting that the Spurs fans shouldn't have been in that part of the ground

Ruth Lelacheur

Mr Edmonds went to a police station on 31 March this year after pictures of the incident were shown on the BBC Crimewatch UK programme.

He had not been identified after the alleged attack, despite the same pictures appearing in national newspapers and on television last March.

Mr Edmonds told the police he was the man in the photographs and on the videotape but denied assaulting Miss Lelacheur.

'Blows to the head'

Michael Latham, prosecuting, said Miss Lelacheur was with her partner, Jim Blockley, and daughter Megan, then aged three, in the family enclosure at the Leicester City end of the stadium when a dispute arose about the presence of a small group of Tottenham fans.

He said: "Miss Lelacheur was holding her daughter by the hand and then her daughter fell to the ground.

"A Leicester fan picked up Megan and Miss Lelacheur said she then felt two blows to the head, one to the back of the ear and another to her jaw."

The Leicester City fan needed treatment and then left the ground, he said.

The Tottenham Hotspur fan claims he was pushed to the ground during scuffles and hit out to defend himself, but did not aim any punches at Miss Lelacheur.

But Mr Latham told the jury: "The Crown says that he was vicious and assaulted her with a number of punches which cannot be described as self-defence."

Chanting

Miss Lelacheur told the court there had been a carnival atmosphere in the ground just before the incident occurred.

She described how, not long after kick-off, a group of up to seven Tottenham fans started chanting.

"A lot of Leicester fans then started shouting that the Spurs fans shouldn't have been in that part of the ground," said Miss Lelacheur.

"My partner, Jim, called over a supervisor and told him that people were not happy with the situation as things could turn nasty and there were a lot of children around."

The alleged attacker's ticket was traced back to Leicester City star Andy Impey, who was one of seven players and officials from the club fined a total of £75,000 last March for selling tickets for the final improperly.