Irish footballer convicted after brawl, Chelsea pair cleared

Wimbledon and Republic of Ireland Under-21 defender Des Byrne has been found guilty of possession of an offensive weapon and …

Wimbledon and Republic of Ireland Under-21 defender Des Byrne has been found guilty of possession of an offensive weapon and fined Stg£2,000 after a late-night brawl at a London nightclub.

Chelsea defender John Terry was found not guilty of all charges arising out of the same incident and teammate Jody Morris was cleared of one charge.

Byrne, 21, Terry, 21, and Morris, 23, were found not guilty of affray in relation to the incident at The Wellington Club in London's fashionable Knightsbridge in January of this year.

Dubliner Byrne, who has been capped for the Republic of Ireland at Under-21 level, and Terry had also been charged with unlawful possession of weapons and Terry had been accused of unlawfully wounding doorman Mr Trevor Thirlwall.

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The maximum penalty for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, as Terry had been charged, is life imprisonment.

An alternative charge of unlawful wounding carries five years in jail.

Byrne and Terry faced four years for possession of an offensive weapon and the maximum jail term for affray is three years.