It was not something you see every night in town, a girl punching a fella in the face

Danny Cadamarteri

He also told the jury of seven women and five men how he "panicked" when told by Everton player-coach Dave Watson that he was wanted by police for questioning.

Mr Cadamarteri said: "I thought I was going to be branded as someone who goes round punching people in town - not just people but a female.

"I panicked and thought the best thing to say was that I was not there."

Mr Cadamarteri, 21, of Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, denies assault occasioning actual bodily harm in the early hours of 1 October.

Miss Joel wept as she told how she was punched in the face by the footballer after rejecting sexual demands from him and his friends.

Blurred vision

The 25-year-old suffered a suspected fractured cheekbone and said she had blurred vision and numbness in her face following the fracas.

At the start of the defence case, Mr Cadamarteri told his barrister Ian Harris how he spent the evening in Liverpool city centre with two friends but denied being drunk.

He claimed to have first noticed Miss Joel and her friend Christine Walmsley while walking towards Hardman Street to hail a taxi to go to a party in the West Derby district of the city.

He said Miss Joel swore at his friend before striking him twice in the face.

Mr Cadamarteri said: "It was just unexpected. It was not something you see every night in town, a girl punching a fella in the face.

'Lost balance'

"I think I said something along the lines of 'what are you doing?' or 'what was that for?'

"She turned and came at me in the same manner - with her hands ready as if she was ready to fight me."

Cadamarteri, dressed in a white shirt, blue trousers and tie, demonstrated to the jury how he had tried to defend himself.

"I intended to just knock her out of the way. As I pushed out, I caught her.

"I think she lost her balance and fell over. As she fell over, she just looked up at me."

The case continues.