According to a court hearing, a former Cardiff City footballer accused of stabbing a guy in the back said he was not carrying a weapon at the time of the alleged attack.
Ibrahim Meite, 25, allegedly stabbed Rio Amos, 24, in Putney, south London, on September 12, 2019. Meite also played for League Two club Crawley Town and had a trial with 2016 Premier League Champions Leicester City.
The court heard that Amos then pulled out a larger blade and stabbed Meite after he fell over while fleeing the scene.
On Wednesday, February 9, the player told Kingston Crown Court that he never had a knife and merely planned to punch Amos ‘to wind him up.’
Meite said he happened upon Amos while driving with Leon Hughes, 33, and wanted to ‘clear the air’ following a ‘dispute’ in a nightclub that resulted in ‘pushing and shoving.’
Both climbed out of the vehicle, according to the court, before Meite approached Amos and reportedly hit him.
‘I didn’t have a knife or blade – 100%,’ Meite told the court. That is something I am convinced of.
‘I had nothing sharp in my hand save my car keys.’
‘When I punched him, I felt something extremely firm,’ he said when asked about a wound on Amos’ back. ‘He has already pleaded guilty to possessing many knives that day.’
‘My objective was to wind Mr Amos because he was being nasty for no apparent reason,’ Meite stated.
When Amos followed down Meite and stabbed him, he claimed he was acting in self-defense.
He was carrying two knives for protection after being warned people were out to get him, but he said he had no idea why and denied there had been a fight in a nightclub, according to the court.
“I heard there were individuals looking for me,” he told the jurors, “and since I heard they were looking for me, that’s the only time I was carrying a knife with me.”
Following the first strike to his head, he claimed he drew one of the knives from his waistband after seeing a knife in Meite’s hand.
‘He keeps glancing back to see if I’m coming after him,’ he added, explaining why he chased Meite and stabbed him. If I turn around, I believe he will pursue me instead.’
‘He had his arm in my face, I had just been stabbed by him, he was still a menace to me,’ he continued.
Meite had four wounds during the event, including one to his chest, wrist, thumb, and thigh, according to the court.
Both males were sent to St George’s Hospital after the incident.
Hughes is accused of assisting Meite in carrying out an attack when he was with him at the time of the alleged event.