A young waterpolo player “underestimated the strength of his punch” when he knocked out a man’s front tooth in a Paceville bar, a court heard yesterday.
Montenegrin waterpolo player Miljan Popovic, 19, who plays for Sliema, admitted the charge in court.
The incident took place at Sabor nightclub in Paceville at around 2.45 a.m. on July 7 when Mr Popovic, in the company of a Maltese girl, was being “provoked and insulted” by a group of Maltese men, according to his lawyer Arthur Azzopardi.
The man who got in the way of his punch was Kurt Galea.
“One thing led to another and Mr Galea punched my client in the face and my client retaliated, breaking one of the man’s teeth. He exceeded the limit of self-defence because he underestimated the strength of his arm and, being a waterpolo player, the arms are quite strong,” he said.
Police Inspector Luke Bonello said Mr Galea too will be facing criminal proceedings in connection with this punch-up.
Magistrate Neville Camilleri conditionally discharged Mr Popovic for three years.
His contract with the club expires in three years’ time.