Footballer called woman a 'fat sl**', threw chips and then punched mother
Footballer Marcus Maddison has been sentenced to 20 months in prison
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A former footballer has been jailed for 20 months after punching a woman in the face.
Marcus Maddison, who started his career at Newcastle before proceeding to have stints with the likes of Charlton, Hull and Peterborough, attacked his victim on a night out in Darlington last year.
The 29-year-old called his 60-year-old victim's daughter a 'fat sl**' before the attack.
The former midfielder left The Gale nightclub at 3am in the early hours on September 25, 2022.
Marcus Maddison fell to the flaw before regaining his footing and punching a woman
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He then threw cheesy chips at the woman before proceeding to punch her in the face, breaking her nose.
Maddison was wearing a ring at the time.
The victim told Teesside Crown Court that she's still suffering from the attack now, with her teeth and nose impacted.
“My jaw was broken in multiple places," she said. I can't eat on the left-hand side of my mouth. I have problems with my teeth.
"I can no longer smell properly and have been on various different medications by my general practitioner to treat various ongoing issues.
"I've been a regular visitor to my GP since the assault.
"I have nerve damage to my face on the left-hand side and my taste buds are damaged."
The court heard Maddison said: “You come near me and I'm going to pelt these cheesy chips at you."
He then fell backwards before getting to his feet, throwing chips and punching the 60-year-old woman in the face.
She was later found covered in blood sitting on the floor outside a shop in Darlington.
Maddison admitted a charge of causing grievous bodily harm following the incident.
Tabitha Buck, mitigating, said the footballer had stopped drinking as a result of his behaviour.
And he'd also accepted that his reaction was over the top, too.
Recorder Paul Reid sentenced Maddison to 20 months and said: “You struck the woman; you hit her with extreme force with your right fist and on your right hand you were wearing a large metal ring and that ring amounts to a weapon.
“This is an incident of egregious violence in a public place.”
Maddison was playing for Darlington FC at the time of the attack.
They previously released a statement that read: "The club were made aware of an alleged incident and conducted an immediate disciplinary investigation.
"After discussions with the player concerned the club agreed to mutually terminate his contract with immediate effect at that time.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Marcus Maddison has stopped drinking following his decision to punch a 60-year-old woman
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"Darlington FC is a fan-owned club and has a zero tolerance towards discrimination, violence of abusive behaviour."