Ex-Manchester United star broke man’s eye socket after he stood on new trainers
Former Manchester United star Ronnie Wallwork avoided jail after fracturing a man’s eye socket in a pub brawl over his brand new white trainers.
The ex-footballer, 43, punched Alan Mulholland in the face after accusing him of ‘mocking’ his footwear and pointing at them during a night out just three days before Christmas in 2019.
In the moments leading up to the ‘schoolyard-style’ assault, Wallwork had taken off one of his trainers and held it in the air to show his friends before attacking the victim.
Mr Mulholland needed three stitches for a wound to his face and suffered facial swelling as well as a bloodshot eye.
He was also head-butted by one of Wallwork’s pals during the 25-second fight at the Jam Works bar in Droylsden, Greater Manchester.
Wallwork pleaded guilty to GBH at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court and was handed an 18-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work, to complete a rehabilitation programme and to pay Mr Mulholland £500 in compensation.
David Gardner, 43, from Newton Heath, Manchester, who had admitted the same charge, was also given an 18-month sentence, suspended for two years.
Gardner was ordered to complete a rehabilitation programme and to pay Mr Mulholland compensation of £1,000.
Judge Tina Landale said the ‘brutal attack’ was ‘out of character’ for ‘both hard working men’.
She told the pair: ‘An argument started with your victim which led to you both losing your tempers in a brutal attack on your victim.
‘It started when the victim was head-butted by Mr Gardner and was followed by punches from Mr Wallwork, the force of which knocked him back and caused him to fall.
‘The incident was somewhat sustained lasting 25 seconds.
‘It has had a long lasting effect on your victim leaving him with a fractured eye socket and bruising. The head-butt was used as a weapon and the assault was aggravated by the fact it was in a pub and was committed under the influence of alcohol.
‘You are both remorseful and are sorry for what you did and are not just sorry for yourself as is so often expressed in this court.
‘This was out of character for both of you and you are both hardworking men.’
Prosecutor Brendan O’Leary told the court the attack on December 22 was captured on the bar’s CCTV.
Describing the footage, he said ‘Mr Mulholland chatted with the defendants’ during the evening and ‘there appears to have been some conversation about the trainers that Mr Wallwork was wearing’.
Wallwork could be seen approaching the victim before pointing to his trainers, prompting ‘some short exchange of words’ before the latter again ‘points towards’ the former footballer’s shoes.
After moving to another table, Wallwork was shown speaking to his co-defendant and a third man before pointing over towards the victim, the prosecutor said.
He went on: ‘It appears something may have been said by Mr Wallwork at this stage as Mr Mulholland raised his hands and clapped in the direction of Mr Wallwork.
‘Mr Mulholland then pointed towards Mr Wallwork’s trainers. Mr Wallwork then took off his right trainer and held it up to Mr Gardner and another man he was speaking to.’
The court heard Gardner is then seen to lean down and reach out to touch the retired midfielder’s shoes, prompting Wallwork to ‘square up’ to the victim.
Gardner, ‘without warning’, head-butted Mr Mulholland before Wallwork slipped through the grip of someone trying to hold him back and waded in with a number of punches, sending his victim crashing over a table.
Security then moved in to remove Wallwork, who was still pushing forward ‘as if to continue the attack’, the court was told.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Mulholland described the severe emotional affect that the attack had on him.
It read: ‘It has left me feeling depressed, nothing like this has ever happened to me. I am always looking over my shoulder worrying about being assaulted again.”
Alex Langhorn, representing both defendants, said Mr Mulholland had stepped on Wallwork’s shoes just prior to the attack.
He told the court Wallwork had been stabbed in 2006 which ended his football career, adding that the trauma still has a ‘catastrophic effect on his life and still affects him to this day’.
Mr Langhorn said Wallwork ‘wished he had walked away’ from the incident, which was ‘something more akin to a schoolyard incident’.
The court heard Wallwork is not currently working, but Mr Langhorn added: ‘He does have hope for the future, he has a number of offers that are open to him.
‘He is working his way back to providing a proper family for his partner, proper support and a proper role model.’
Wallwork was jailed in December 2011 for 15 months after he was caught selling on parts from stolen high-performance cars.
Police stumbled upon the illegal vehicle-breaking operation in Newton Heath while investigating a string of unconnected armed robberies across Lancashire.
The midfielder, who represented England at under-20 level, joined United as a trainee in 1993 but struggled to command a first-team place and was loaned to a number of clubs before he joined West Bromwich Albion in 2002.
Loan periods at Bradford City, Barnsley and Huddersfield followed before he moved to Sheffield Wednesday in 2008 where he made just seven appearances.
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