Premiership: Everton striker guilty of assault on woman

Everton striker Danny Cadamarteri has been found guilty of assault by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court after punching a young woman in a late-night fracas.

Cadamarteri had been accused of punching Joeline Joel in the face during a late-night fracas in Liverpool city centre last October.

Judge David Lynch said he had no doubt that Cadamarteri hit the woman but said he would not be imposing a custodial sentence.

Cadamarteri, 21, had pleaded not guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to punching Miss Joel, now 25, who suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone.

Adjourning sentence for one week, the judge said: "Had this been an unprovoked punch on a woman a custodial sentence would have been very much at the forefront of my mind.

"But I accept the evidence of the independent witness Paul Bell that the complainant was very much under the influence of alcohol and had attacked one of the defendant's friends by punching him in the face twice and had turned her attention to the defendant and was about to punch him in the face.

"I have no doubt that he punched her in the face and I have no doubt that that was excessive force but that is a world apart from unprovoked attack."