The former Stoke City midfielder Steven N’Zonzi missed the club’s player-of-the-year awards because he was in police custody.
The Frenchman won the player-of-the-year and the players’ player-of-the-year awards at Stoke’s annual dinner.
However, the 26-year-old missed the event at the Britannia Stadium for “unforeseen personal reasons”. Now details of his absence have been revealed – N’Zonzi is set to stand trial accused of assaulting his wife.
He denied beating Lynda N’Zonzi when he appeared before South Cheshire magistrates court. The midfielder is accused of assaulting her at an address in Crewe on 19 May, the same day as the Premier League club’s end-of-season awards party.
He pleaded not guilty to the assault at a hearing in Crewe on 27 May. The footballer was released on conditional bail. The trial will take place at the same court on 22 December.
N’Zonzi began his career with the French Ligue 2 side Amiens SC before moving to Blackburn Rovers in 2009 for £500,000. He joined Stoke City for £3m in 2012 before moving to Sevilla for £7m in July 2015.
