The man who clashed with rugby league personality Paul Kent outside a Rozelle nightspot was left with a head injury after a bystander intervened in the melee.
Kent, the Fox Sports NRL 360 co-host and
Daily Telegraph columnist, has been stood down by his employer News Corp while it probes his involvement in a street fight in Sydney’s inner west on Saturday night.
A 35-year-old man has been charged with affray over the incident with Kent, vision of which was captured on a phone camera and posted on social media.
On Tuesday, the 35-year-old’s high profile lawyer Chris Murphy said he expected Kent, 54, will also be charged by police over the altercation, which occurred outside the venue Three Weeds Rozelle. Police are continuing to investigate.
“I believe my client was the subject of violence from two other men and this was occasioned to him while he was retreating from Paul Kent,” Murphy said on Tuesday.
“A group walked past [the venue] and Paul Kent accused him of saying something. It just didn’t happen. My client didn’t know who Kent was until someone said, ‘C’mon Paul, back off Kenty’ and tried to restrain Kent. But he broke away from them and came at my client.”
Kent had been drinking at the Sackville Hotel, a 10-minute walk away on Rozelle’s main strip Darling Street. He lives close by in Lilyfield.
Vision of the scuffle appears to show Kent accusing the man of saying something derogatory towards him as he walked past, before calling him a “doghead” and then taking his watch off and brushing off attempts to hold him back.
It then appears that Kent then shapes up to the man, cocks his fist and charges at him, before being tossed head first by the man into the base of a tree on the other side of the street. Footage shows the 35-year-old then being tackled into the ground by another man, who had initially tried to restrain Kent. The man suffered an injury to the back of his head, for which he has sought medical attention. A photograph of the man shows a large lump at the back of his head, which he alleges remains swollen and has caused him to be unable to sleep. He also alleges he sustained cuts to his back.
Murphy said his client does not drink and had been about to travel home after having a meal at Totti’s Italian restaurant, which is in Three Weeds.
“He was out for dinner with his wife and another couple at Totti’s restaurant. They had a reservation, they paid for their meal and were leaving. He was on the step with the other couple waiting for his wife to come down the stairs,” he said.
“He was approached by Kent and retreated.
“If this matter ends up in a courtroom, Mr Kent will be subject to very close cross-examination.”
Kent was contacted for comment.
The man who clashed with the rugby league personality outside a Rozelle nightspot also suffered a head injury after a bystander intervened in the melee.
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