Ross Gardner attacked ex-Liverpool player Shamal George and his brother, leaving the footballer in a pool of blood who admitted he thought he was going to die.
A former Liverpool goalkeeper was left lying in a pool of blood after a vicious attack by a thug who then fled the country.
Shamal George, 26, was the victim of an unprovoked attack by Ross Gardner who also attacked his brother Lloyd Smith during a night out outside the Red Door bar in the Liverpool city centre back in 2019. Gardner, 35, was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm but fled the UK with his trial looming as he spent years on the run.
After evading a jail sentence, he’s since been brought to justice after he was arrested on Monday (April 8) upon his return to the UK in order to attend a family funeral.
Gardner was initially handed an 18-month prison sentence in April 2021 but due to fleeing the UK, he remained at large while a European arrest warrant was issued. He claims the decision to move to Spain with his wife and children for the last three years was due to threats being made to him and his family as well as suffering slash marks on his midriff after being attacked.
But Martyn Walsh, defending, told Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday (April 9): “He now has four young children. He had been providing for his family over there. He returned to the UK for a family funeral. That is when he was arrested on the warrant. He now knows he must be dealt with. Mr Gardner comes across as a very pleasant man.”
On top of his initial 18-month sentence, Gardner was handed an additional four months behind bars for the shocking attack that left George – who was contracted at Liverpool at the time – in fear of his life.
Sarah Griffin, prosecuting Gardner’s trial, previously described how George and his brother were enjoying a night out celebrating a friend’s birthday before they were attacked by Gardner with CCTV footage showing him punch the brothers before he was dragged off.
Despite being dragged off, he launched a subsequent on George outside of the bar as he punched and kicked the goalkeeper to the ground, leaving the Birkenhead native bleeding heavily from his eye with his brother claiming from the witness box that he feared losing his sight.
“I remember seeing my brother outside on the floor, and there was a crowd around him,” Smith said. “He was screaming that he couldn’t see out of his eye, there was a lot of blood and his eye was closed up. I tried to keep him calm, keep him still and I told him that I was there.
Shamal George
The goalkeeper left Liverpool in 2020 (Image: Getty Images)
“I went into the ambulance with him and he was panicking for his career. He was worried about his eyesight.” Both brothers were forced to receive stitches which left George out of action for a month, leaving him unable to train or play.
The goalkeeper admitted: “I honestly thought I was going to be killed. I am only 22 years old and I was supposed to be out enjoying a birthday meal, I didn’t expect this to happen.”
