Newcastle striker Carroll fined for club assault

LONDON (Reuters) -- Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll was fined 1,000 pounds ($1,574) on Monday after admitting he had assaulted a man in a nightclub. The 21-year-old pleaded guilty to common assault over the incident at the Blu Bambu club in Newcastle city centre in December last year which left the victim with a head injury which required hospital treatment.

The court heard the striker had accidentally struck Michael Cook in the face with a glass after hurling a drink at him. Cook was left with bleeding from a deep cut above his right eye and bruising.

"The prosecution accept you did not intend to injure Mr Cook, so that what happened to him was effectively an accident," said Judge Esmond Faulks.

"In these unusual circumstances I can proceed to deal with you by way of a financial penalty."

The row had erupted after Cook spilled a drink on a woman who was standing next to Carroll, the prosecution said.

She poured her drink over him and Cook responded by throwing his drink in her face. It was then that Carroll, who had drunk eight or nine pints of lager, retaliated.

"The fact he is a famous footballer gives him no advantage in this court room at all," his lawyer Stuart Drive said.

"In life it gives him opportunities and luxuries but it also brings with it unwanted attention and that is something he is going to have to learn to live with." Carroll had denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm, a more serious charge that was dropped after his guilty plea.

However, he was ordered to pay Cook 2,500 pounds compensation during the hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, the Press Association reported.

On Saturday, Carroll scored the winner in Newcastle's 2-1 win over West Ham, his fifth Premier League goal this season.