Don't you know I'm a millionaire?: 'What groper footballer said to girl in nightclub before punching her in face'



Marlon King, pictured with his wife, denies punching a woman in the face at a celebrity nightclub

A premiership footballer groped a woman in a nightclub before breaking her nose when she rejected his advances, a court has heard.



Marlon King, 29, allegedly shouted: 'Don't you know who I am? I'm a millionaire - you're not even in my league', before hitting the petite student in the face.



The £25,000-a-week Wigan Athletic striker is said to have approached the woman while she was with friends in the Soho Revue Bar in London last December.



She had never met King before and prosecutor Roger Daniells-Smith said none of the party had invited him to join them.



However, he said that did not stop the married father-of-three - who plays international football for Jamaica - from making advances by 'sexually touching' the 20-year-old woman on her bottom.



Mr Daniells-Smith told Southwark Crown Court: 'It was neither welcome nor consensual. It was not an accidental brushing. This was deliberate and sexual.'



He said the woman left King in no doubt what she thought of his behaviour and 'firmly' insisted: 'Don't do that. Don't touch me.'

But instead of 'taking the hint', King allegedly turned to two other women in the party and started touching them around their necks and chins.



Mr Daniells-Smith said they too told him to stop and he turned back to the student, stroking her hair.

He said: 'She told him to stop. He replied "Don't you know who I am? I'm a millionaire". She replied, "I don't care who you are, take your millionaire self away".

Support: King and his wife Julia pictured leaving Southwark Crown Court

'She brushed his hand away, but he grabbed her wrist. She then pushed him away on the chest and at that moment Marlon King took one step backward and smashed her in the face with a clenched fist.'



Security staff at the club intervened and took him away.



Yesterday, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wept as she listed the injuries caused by the punch.



She said: 'It split my lip, broke my nose and gave me a black eye. It felt like I was bleeding everywhere.'

Celebrity hang-out: King alleged;y attacked the 20-year-old woman at the Soho Revue Bar in London last December

The Wigan Athletic star's alleged victim was then handed a photo taken on a friend's mobile shortly after the attack.



Looking at the picture she told the court: 'That's me. That is blood from my face that dripped down my dress.'



The student had earlier told the court how King had grabbed her then touched up her friends before turning his attention back to her.



She said: 'He gave me a dirty look and started shaking his head at me.



'Then he was in my face saying "you're not even in my league, love, I'm a multi-millionaire".



'I just carried on asking him to leave.



'I'm quite a lot smaller than him and he looked over my head at my friends, saying 'get this girl away from me'.



'Then he started poking me in the head, pushing my temple like he was enjoying it, repeating "not even in my league".



'I was quite offended but was trying to be controlled. I kept on repeating "take your multi-millions and leave - no one cares, just get away from the table".



'He started playing with my hair, pulling it. It wasn't hard - he was taunting everyone.



'I felt tiny, I felt really embarrassed. I felt like he was invading my personal space.



'I did a shooing motion with my hand at which point he grabbed my wrist and pulled it down.



'That made me lean forward a bit at which point one of my friends grabbed his arm, saying 'get off her'.



'Then he let go in such a way to push my friend back and when I looked up he punched me in the face.



'It was hard enough to knock me off my feet. I fell back and he was still coming at me so my friend moved me away from the situation at which point I put my hand to my face and felt that I was bleeding.'



The barrister told jurors that King was on loan to Hull City at the time of the incident.

The footballer, from Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, denies one count of sexual assault and one of causing actual bodily harm.

He claims although he was at the club, he was the victim of 'mistaken identity' and did not attack the woman. The trial continues.