A bouncer was yesterday cleared of punching a man and injuring his two friends because the court ruled the trio were not victims but had taken part in a fight in front of a nightclub.

Philip Galea, 24, of Sliema was cleared of seriously injuring Klenvin Falzon and slightly injuring Keith Buttigieg and Darrell Micallef in October 2006 in Paceville.

Mr Galea was also cleared of assaulting the men at 1.30 a.m. outside the Koyote nightclub.

The incident started when one of the three men was refused entry into the club.

The club has a flight of steps divided lengthwise by a metal handrail where people exit from one side and enter from the other. Mr Buttigieg tried to enter from the side where people were exiting and was asked by another bouncer, Elian Mallia, to go around and come in by the right way. He obeyed but tried to push his way through a queue of people waiting to get into the club.

Mr Galea testified he suspected Mr Buttigieg was drunk because he heard him shouting and singing in the road. As a result, he refused to let him in and asked him to leave. Mr Buttigieg got angry and a fight broke out. "I got angry and wanted to get my own back," he admitted in court.

But the versions of the two bouncers and the men over who started the fight did not tally. The would-be patrons claimed the bouncer had punched Mr Buttigieg first but the bouncers said it was the other way round. Moreover, Mr Buttigieg claimed he pushed back the bouncer, who then threw him to the floor and started hitting him.

"When my friends saw me on the floor, they came to help me and were hit as well. But it was Mr Falzon who was injured the worst because the other bouncers arrived and started fighting."

Mr Buttigieg and Mr Micallef sustained slight injures but Mr Falzon ended up with a two centimetre gash over his left eye.

Mr Galea was also slightly injured and his clothes torn. But while the two men said they saw Mr Falzon being hit by other bouncers, the court noted that only Mr Buttigieg accused Mr Galea of punching him.

"The court is not convinced beyond all reasonable doubt that Mr Galea injured Mr Falzon given the conflicting evidence," Magistrate Edwina Grima said.

Moreover, Mr Buttigieg said in court he had forgiven Mr Galea and did not want to take any legal action against him. "I sorted out the issue with Mr Galea. We shook hands and forgave each other. It was reciprocal."

Similarly, Mr Micallef said he was not interested in criminal action against Mr Galea because he never touched him. "Mr Galea never hit me because he was hitting Mr Buttigieg."

The court noted that Mr Galea had been injured too and that the three men were not victims because they also took part in the fight.

As a result, she cleared him of all charges.

Police Superintendent Martin Sammut prosecuted.

Lawyers Joseph Giglio and Stephen Tonna Lowell appeared for Mr Galea.