Former Manchester United and England player Jesse Lingard Tuesday testified in a sexual assault trial of his grandfather.
Lingard flew all the way from South Korea to appear at Liverpool Crown Court as a defence witness in the trial of Kenneth Lingard. The 86-year-old is accused of historic sexual assaults against a complainant who has alleged he abused her from the age of five.
The court has heard the woman made allegations to police after a 2022 documentary in which Jesse Lingard, 32, spoke about his grandfather’s positive influence.
The footballer, who wore a black suit with white shirt and black tie to give evidence on Tuesday, said the woman contacted him after the documentary came out.
The player told the court he had not known anything about the allegations before.
He said: “I would have cut ties with him straight away.
“My daughter wouldn’t be round there. My little sister wouldn’t be round there.”
Asked by Tom Price KC, defending, if he would lie on behalf of his grandfather, Jesse Lingard said: “No, never. If I knew any of these allegations I’d have cut ties with him years ago.”
Asked why he made the Channel 4 documentary, called Untold: The Jesse Lingard Story, he said: “I made it for mental health reasons and just to show my family, show people how footballers live.
Asked if the trial had caused him any difficulties, he said: “A few sponsorship deals in Korea have fell through. I’ve had to hold off on some more sponsorship deals in Korea at the moment.”
He told the court he had lived with his grandparents from the age of two or three and his grandfather was very supportive with his career.
He said: “He basically taught me football, taught all the skills, drove me up and down motorways from Liverpool to Manchester, Crewe, Barnsley, Stoke, to watch me play football.
“He’s been the man that’s got me here today.”
Kenneth Lingard, of Northway, Warrington, denies 17 counts of indecent assault. Sunday World reports
