A man had to have titanium plates fitted to his jaw after being attacked outside a bar following the Champions League final.
The recovering heart attack victim was subjected to a brutal unprovoked assault by Carl Perry after watching Liverpool FC's defeat to Real Madrid in the Loft in Woolton in May this year. The thug punched him in the pub's smoking area before returning five minutes later and knocking him out, breaking his jaw in two places and fracturing his eye socket.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Friday, that Michael Stabler had been out with family members - including his nephew, who had only recently turned 18 - on the evening of May 28 this year. Both parties had watched the match screened on televisions in the Allerton Road establishment, and while the 43-year-old and Perry had had an altercation in the toilets during the course of the night the pair had "shaken on it".
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In the early hours of May 29, the complainant was walking his intoxicated teenage family member outside to the smoking shelter when words were exchanged between the two at the bar. The defendant followed him and hit him once to the face, then went back inside and "re-enacted his punch" to friends.
Perry, of Redoaks Way in Halewood, appeared once again roughly five minutes later when the pub was closing at around 12.30am. The 40-year-old approached Mr Stabler from behind with the hood of his jacket up and struck him twice to the head with two "heavy blows", rendering him unconscious.
He was rushed to Whiston Hospital after breaking his jaw in two places and suffering a fractured eye socket, and later transferred to Aintree Hospital. The seafarer - who had suffered a heart attack only six months beforehand in November 2021 - had to undergo an operation under general anaesthetic to fit two metal plates and eight screws to his face.
Peter Hussey, prosecuting, said: "Try as he might, he can remember very little of what happened or what gave rise to it. He says he has racked his brain to recall what had gone on, but he couldn't identify anything in his memory as to what triggered it."
The incident was caught on CCTV, with the footage being played to the court. An image of Perry wearing a red LFC t-shirt was later circulated by Merseyside Police in a bid to trace him.
He contacted the force after seeing his picture in the ECHO, and was arrested on June 18. The assailant told officers after being shown the video that he "saw red again" and was "at a loss to explain why" he had attacked him for a second time.
Dad-of-three Perry has no previous convictions and runs his own fencing business. Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, said: "The defendant is genuinely and truly remorseful for what has happened.
"He is a man who has worked industriously throughout his life - references speak of a man totally different to what we have heard and what we have seen. He cannot for the life of him explain why he reacted in that way."
Perry admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for a year. He was also told to complete 140 hours of unpaid work plus a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 15 days and must serve a three-month curfew from 8pm to 5am
Judge Denis Watson KC imposed £4,000 in compensation, to be paid within a year, and a victim surcharge. Sentencing, he said: "There was obviously some ill feeling which led to you falling out.
"You brooded on it, and a short time later you saw red. I am satisfied that the balance tips slowly but firmly in your favour.
"You decide whether you serve that sentence or not. If you commit any further offence you will breach the order and you will sentence yourself to 12 months imprisonment."
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