Ryan Hale was punched in the face by the cricketer, who was acquitted of affray

A former soldier knocked unconscious by England cricketer Ben Stokes during a street brawl in Bristol has said he cannot understand why the sportsman was not charged with assault by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Stokes was acquitted of affray this week after a trial at Bristol crown court. But Ryan Hale, who served with the Rifles during the Afghanistan war, said he “struggled to understand” why Stokes had not faced the more serious charge of assault.

Footage taken from CCTV cameras in central Bristol on the evening showed Stokes, 27, punching Hale in the face before he fell to the ground, apparently unconscious. Hale’s friend Ryan Ali was left with a broken eye socket and heavy swelling to his face following the fight.

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On the opening morning of the trial, the prosecutor Nicholas Corsellis attempted to add two counts of assault to the charge of affray faced by Stokes. Judge Peter Blair QC said it would have been difficult to object to those charges had they been added months earlier but that it was too late to do so as the defence had prepared for an affray charge.

But Hale has expressed his dismay that Stokes was not charged with assault. A statement issued by legal representatives Bobbetts Mackan Solicitors & Advocates said: “Both Mr Hale and Mr Ali were knocked unconscious by Mr Stokes, and although Mr Stokes has been acquitted of an affray, Mr Hale struggles with the reasons why the Crown Prosecution Service did not treat him as a victim of an unlawful assault.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale leaving Bristol crown court during the trial. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Reuters

Hale, 27, who is from Bristol and was also found not guilty of affray, rejected the suggestion he had been homophobic towards gay couple William O’Connor and Kai Barry on the evening of the brawl in September last year. Stokes said he had thrown the punches to defend the couple after witnessing them receiving homophobic abuse from Hale and Ali.

O’Connor and Barry were not called as witnesses by the defence or prosecution, but after the not guilty verdict they gave interviews to media outlets claiming Stokes had defended them from homophobic abuse. Barry, 27, told the Sun newspaper: “We were attacked only because we were gay. Ben was heroic — thank you Ben!”

But Hale maintained he had only had good-natured interaction with the couple.

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A statement issued on his behalf, read: “It is of concern to Mr Hale that following the conclusion of the trial, Mr O’Connor and Mr Barry, neither of whom were relied upon by the prosecution or the defence team for Mr Stokes, have taken the opportunity to speak with various media outlets about the alleged homophobic abuse that they received in the early hours of Monday 25 September.

“Mr Hale has passionately denied this allegation throughout the course of this case, initially providing his denial to the police when he was interviewed on a voluntary basis on Friday 29 September and he maintains this denial to date.

“It is upsetting to Mr Hale that although he was acquitted, the accusation that he was the author of such abuse remains.”

