Collymore may return to talk to gardai about Dublin assault

The former professional soccer player Stan Collymore may travel to Dublin from England to be interviewed by gardaí over an alleged assault on him on Grafton Street in the early hours of Sunday morning.

While Collymore went to Pearse Street Garda station to make a complaint shortly after the incident, he did not make a full statement. Because of that, the matter is not under formal Garda investigation, Garda sources said.

Collymore was taken from Pearse Street to St James's Hospital for medical treatment at around 5.30 a.m. on Sunday. He was told by gardaí he needed to return to make a full complaint. However, he never returned to the station.

Garda tried to contact him at the hospital but he declined to speak to them. Another attempt was made to interview him at the Westbury Hotel on Sunday afternoon, where he was staying, but he was asleep in bed. He then left for England.

The ex-England player said he plans to make a complaint to the English police about the late night incident. However, it is unclear what jurisdiction English police would have relating to an alleged offence committed in Ireland.

Collymore claims the men who attacked him were in a group which had travelled to Dublin for the European Cup match between Bath Rugby Club and Leinster at Lansdowne Road on Saturday. Collymore added he would be able to identify "80 per cent" of those involved in the incident.

Collymore's agent, Mr Simon Kennedy, said his client was determined to pursue the matter. "If the Garda require us to go back to Dublin he [ Collymore] will comply because on this issue he is blameless," said Mr Kennedy.

"He didn't incite anything whatsoever. Stan was having a great night with some very nice people," he said.

Collymore, who was in Dublin for a television appearance, claimed he had words with some of the rugby group inside Lillies Bordello. Insults continued to be traded between Collymore and the other party at the Burger King restaurant on Grafton Street.

It is understood those involved were asked to leave the premises. It is at this point, at around 3.30 a.m., that Collymore claims he was set upon by the group. A number of security guards working on the street intervened and gardaí were later called.

Collymore first went to Kevin Street Garda station and was redirected to Pearse Street, where he made his preliminary complaint. He told a Sunday newspaper that one of the group had called him a "kaffir", a derogatory South African term for a black person. Bath Rugby Club said yesterday it would consider the facts of the incident before commenting further.

The English Rugby Football Union said it was aware of reports of an alleged incident in Dublin involving Collymore.

"At this stage the RFU is monitoring the matter carefully and has asked Bath for a copy of their report to be forwarded with their recommendations to the RFU's disciplinary officer at their earliest convenience," it said in a statement.