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Rio Merrifield and Kane Drummond pose for a picture outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)

A birthday night out ended in disgrace for three footballers as violent scenes erupted outside a takeaway.

Professional player and Liverpool FC academy graduate Kane Drummond and two of his former teammates, Leon Arnasalam and Rio Merrifield, punched, kicked and stamped on their victim as he lay stricken in the road.

The man was left with injuries including a fractured spine as a result of the vicious assault in Liverpool city centre.



There, he found Arnasalam, Drummond and Merrifield standing beside his vehicle.

Helen Chenery, prosecuting, described how the former thereafter "made a joke about one of the defendants scratching his car", adding: "He was winding up the victim.

Police were then able to identify Drummond and Merrifield after examining his phone, although both remained silent when belatedly questioned in February 2024.

Arnasalam, whose career has seen him appear for the likes of South Liverpool, Stalybridge Celtic and Clitheroe, having previously been labelled a "fan favourite" at Macclesfield, has no previous convictions, but received a caution for a public order offence as a youth in 2014.

He has done a lot of good in the past and can do a lot of good in the future."

Rio Merrifield and Kane Drummond pose for a picture outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Merrifield, of Wynnstay Street in Toxteth, has one previous conviction for section 20 assault, for which he received 12 months detention suspended for 18 months at Preston Crown Court in 2020.

Each will be required to pay £500 in compensation, court costs of £150 and a victim surcharge within 28 days.

Rio Merrifield and Kane Drummond pose for a picture outside Liverpool Crown Court(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Both Drummond and Merrifield later posed for a picture for one of their supporters on Derby Square after leaving the Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts, with the former seen crossing his arms and smiling in celebration.
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