Roadrunner
Well-Known Member
I believe him
EX-SCOTLAND international Garry O’Connor was today cleared of exposing himself at a posh hotel.
The retired striker, 38, was alleged to have told a member of staff “Do you want to see a real man’s boaby?” before dropping his trousers and flashing his buttocks.
O’Connor, who played for hometown club Hibs before joining Lokomotiv Moscow, was also said to have asked Calum Tennant “Do you know who I am?” during the exchange at the Marine Hotel in North Berwick, East Lothian.
Mr Tennant claimed O’Connor dropped his trousers and exposed himself at the hotel reception area before fleeing with a friend following the alleged incident on June 30, 2018.
Police were called and O’Connor, from North Berwick, was eventually identified and traced to his home two months later.
He denied he had dropped his trousers and underwear - but had unbuckled his belt to show off a scar on his hip as he needed a taxi to get home and had trouble walking.
O’Connor told police officers “I did not try to expose myself - I told him I’d had a hip operation and needed a taxi.”
He denied charges of public indecency and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and stood trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today.
The court heard from witness Mr Tennant who said O’Connor and a friend arrived at the hotel at around midnight on June 30, 2018.
He asked to be served alcohol but was refused as the bar was closed and then asked for a taxi to be called to take him home.
Mr Tennant, 26, told the court: “I informed them the bar was closed. He tried to coax me into it but I kept saying ‘no’. He then asked me to call him a taxi.
“He said to me ‘do you know who I am?’ I said I didn’t care [who he was].
“He was sitting with his friend chatting and he came over to me. He said ‘Do you want to see a real man’s boaby?’, or something like that.
“He looked happy to be doing something dumb. He came up to the side of me and undid his pants.
“I told him to get the f*** out of my hotel. I didn’t want to see that.”
Following a trial, Sheriff Chris Dickson acquitted O’Connor of a charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and uttering offensive remarks at the hotel.
The court was shown CCTV footage of the alleged incident which O’Connor claimed was him proving to the hotel worker that he could not walk home as he had recently undergone a hip operation.
O’Connor gave evidence to the court and said he had been housebound for six weeks prior to the incident due to the hip operation.
He said he had enjoyed a family meal that evening before staying out drinking with “an associate”
O’Connor claimed the hotel employee had been “aggressive” towards him following a misunderstanding about a taxi being called for the pair.
After a short deliberation the sheriff decided the public indecency charge had not been proven by the Crown and told the former footballer he was free to leave the dock.
O’Connor, who currently runs his own youth football academy, scored four times in 16 appearances for his country.
EX-SCOTLAND international Garry O’Connor was today cleared of exposing himself at a posh hotel.
The retired striker, 38, was alleged to have told a member of staff “Do you want to see a real man’s boaby?” before dropping his trousers and flashing his buttocks.
O’Connor, who played for hometown club Hibs before joining Lokomotiv Moscow, was also said to have asked Calum Tennant “Do you know who I am?” during the exchange at the Marine Hotel in North Berwick, East Lothian.
Mr Tennant claimed O’Connor dropped his trousers and exposed himself at the hotel reception area before fleeing with a friend following the alleged incident on June 30, 2018.
Police were called and O’Connor, from North Berwick, was eventually identified and traced to his home two months later.
He denied he had dropped his trousers and underwear - but had unbuckled his belt to show off a scar on his hip as he needed a taxi to get home and had trouble walking.
O’Connor told police officers “I did not try to expose myself - I told him I’d had a hip operation and needed a taxi.”
He denied charges of public indecency and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and stood trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today.
The court heard from witness Mr Tennant who said O’Connor and a friend arrived at the hotel at around midnight on June 30, 2018.
He asked to be served alcohol but was refused as the bar was closed and then asked for a taxi to be called to take him home.
Mr Tennant, 26, told the court: “I informed them the bar was closed. He tried to coax me into it but I kept saying ‘no’. He then asked me to call him a taxi.
“He said to me ‘do you know who I am?’ I said I didn’t care [who he was].
“He was sitting with his friend chatting and he came over to me. He said ‘Do you want to see a real man’s boaby?’, or something like that.
“He looked happy to be doing something dumb. He came up to the side of me and undid his pants.
“I told him to get the f*** out of my hotel. I didn’t want to see that.”
Following a trial, Sheriff Chris Dickson acquitted O’Connor of a charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and uttering offensive remarks at the hotel.
The court was shown CCTV footage of the alleged incident which O’Connor claimed was him proving to the hotel worker that he could not walk home as he had recently undergone a hip operation.
O’Connor gave evidence to the court and said he had been housebound for six weeks prior to the incident due to the hip operation.
He said he had enjoyed a family meal that evening before staying out drinking with “an associate”
O’Connor claimed the hotel employee had been “aggressive” towards him following a misunderstanding about a taxi being called for the pair.
After a short deliberation the sheriff decided the public indecency charge had not been proven by the Crown and told the former footballer he was free to leave the dock.
O’Connor, who currently runs his own youth football academy, scored four times in 16 appearances for his country.