Ben Stokes has been cleared of all charges of affray.
English cricketer, Ben Stokes, has been found not guilty of affray after a fight at a Bristol night club.
The cricketer was accused of getting into a fight with Ryan Ali, 28, and Ryan Hale, 27, at the Mbargo Club in September last year. Ali was also found not guilty of the same charge.
The charge of affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of one or more persons in a public place to the terror of ordinary people.
Original news reports revealed Stokes got involved in the altercation after defending two gay men from homophobic slurs.
Kai Barry and Billy O’Connor said Stokes had defended them from homophobia last year.
We were so grateful to Ben for stepping in to help. He was a real hero,’ O’Connor said at the time.
‘If Ben hadn’t intervened, it could have been a lot worse for us.’
The pair had apparently already met him inside the club earlier in the night. The cricketer bought the men Jager Bombs and chatted to them even though the men did not know he was famous.
He is considered one of the best all-rounder cricketers in world . After his arrest the English Cricket Team suspended him indefinitely from play. Stokes also missed playing in England’s second test against India because of the trial.
During his trial in Bristol, the prosecution tried to argue that Stokes had been the main aggressor in the fight and in fact, was the one being homophobic towards the gay men.
Stokes denied that, saying he was protecting the men from abuse.
