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Court hears about soccer game that turned bloody

Blow fractured right eye orbital bone and the injury required 18 stitches
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A player on an opposing soccer team delivered a roundhouse punch to his face during a 2019 recreational league game, Adam Erickson told a judge Monday.

The blow fractured his right eye's orbital bone and the injury required 18 stitches, the 30-year-old man testified at the first day of the trial of the man accused of assaulting him.

The pain from his swollen eye and lacerations around it was "excruciating," Erickson said, but he didn't have to undergo surgery and although his vision was blurred for a month and a half, there has been no long-term effect.

Joshua Gauthier pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault in connection with the July 8, 2019 incident that occurred at Strathclair Field.

In addition to the complainant, Superior Court Justice Edward Gareau heard testimony from three other witnesses - a city police officer who investigated the incident and two of Erickson's teammates.

Erickson told assistant Crown attorney Matthew Caputo that he was playing right  midfield for the Jiggerz team in a match against BDO that night in what he described as a division with a high level of competitiveness.

"Everyone was out there to win," he said.

The ball was moving on his side of the field, heading to the opposing team.

Erickson said he's not sure what position Gauthier was playing and hadn't had any interaction with him.

But "we were challenging shoulder to shoulder," were within 15 feet of each other and converging, "both running towards the ball."

The 156-pound, 5 ft. 11-inch man said he kicked the ball towards the other team's net, Gauthier called him a "f....." and he replied that Gauthier couldn't handle a challenge.

"I turned my back" and then "I remember getting up off my hands and knees with blood dripping off my face."

He told the court he was feeling anger and pain and was in shock. Play stopped, the referee blew the whistle, and someone helped him up.

Erickson said he didn't know who Gauthier was or what he looked like.

"I was overcome with rage and screaming in anger when they took me to my bench. I punched the metal canopy and fractured my hand."

During cross examination by defence lawyer Don Orazietti, he insisted that Gauthier struck him from behind as he was walking away.

"He didn't punch me face to face," Erickson said, denying that he had hurled an insult at Gauthier and had pushed him.

The complainant also rejected Orazietti's contention that he was hacking at Gauthier's legs, kicking and shoving him.

"I was just playing soccer," Erickson said.

While agreeing he was a competitive person, he denied that he had provoked the incident.

Brandon Gribelli was Jiggerz' goalkeeper and team manager in 2019.

At the beginning, the game wasn't competitive because BDO was short a player, but 10 to 15 minutes in Gauthier showed up and it became more physical, he said.

Soon after Gauthier, who the witness described as a good, more physical player, committed a foul on one of the Jiggerz defenders and got into an argument.

Following a stoppage in play, Gauthier then had the ball, and Erickson was trying to get it away from him, when Gauthier turned around and punched him in the face, Gribelli said.

After he was struck, Erickson fell to the ground.

"He got up pretty quickly. He was not very happy about it. Words were exchanged. We're all freaking out."

The witness said Gauthier went back to his bench, but didn't check to see if Erickson was alright.

Erickson wanted to go at Gauthier, but the other players stood between the two men to keep them apart.

In frustration Erickson punched their dugout, Gribelli said.

Gauthier was red carded and he left the field.

Gribelli described the game with BDO as aggressive compared with other teams in the league, because the others had more skilled players.

Individual players, such as Gauthier, were aggressive that was "why we didn't like playing against that team," he said.

During cross-examination by Orazietti, he agreed that Erickson was feisty enough, despite the blow, that he still wanted to go at it with Gauthier.

He denied that his team was known for being aggressive and was playing rough and trying to intimidate Gauthier because he was BDO's best player.

Gribelli said he didn't see Erickson push Gauthier and rejected the defence suggestion that it could have happened and he missed it.

Another Jiggerz player Nicholas Dilabio was on the bench when the incident occurred.

He said Gauthier had control of the ball, was defending it with his body and had his back towards Erickson.

"Adam leaned in with his foot trying to get the ball," Dilabio told the Crown. "Josh pushed him away, turned around and struck Adam in the face."

The witness said Erickson fell to the ground.

"I was in shock. There was a lot of blood," he said. "This was soccer. I wasn't expecting fists and so much blood."

Dilabio said he didn't hear any verbal altercation between the two men.

He agreed during cross-examination that both men were highly competitive.

Gauthier was a fast and physical player, who could handle the ball and scored often, he said.

The trial continues today.


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About the Author: Linda Richardson

Linda Richardson is a freelance journalist who has been covering Sault Ste. Marie's courts and other local news for more than 45 years.
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