THE CAPTAIN of Portsmouth Football Club was arrested for head butting a father of two at a Southampton nightspot, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Liam Lawrence was questioned by police officers after assaulting James Thorp who was enjoying a night out with friends at Cafe Parfait.

Mr Thorp was out with workmates and minding their drinks when he claims Lawrence walked past, picked one of them up and drank it before walking off.

When Mr Thorp asked him to pay for a replacement the Pompey skipper head butted the 28-year-old without warning – leaving him with a suspected broken nose, two black eyes and a cut lip.

Door staff immediately detained the Republic of Ireland international and called in the police who arrested Lawrence following the incident that happened just days before Saints played Portsmouth in a Championship clash.

Mr Thorp, from Calmore, who has a six-year-old daughter and three-year-old son, said he had no idea who his attacker was until after the incident at the Above Bar venue.

He said: “I asked him if he was going to pay for another and he just walked off. There wasn’t an aggressive vibe or anything.

“When my mate came back, I walked over to him and asked him to pay again.

“Then all of a sudden, without any warning he jumped up and launched forward to head butt me.”

After being quizzed by officers Lawrence admitted the offence and was handed a police caution.

A police spokesman said: “Police can confirm that they were called to Café Parfait in Above Bar Street in Southampton to deal with an allegation of assault on a 28-year-old Southampton man.

“The man was allegedly head butted in a dispute over a drink.

“Door staff detained a 30-year-old man from Warsash who police arrested in connection with the incident. He was questioned and admitted the offence and given an adult caution.”

The assault in the early hours of last Sunday morning also left Mr Thorp, an engineer for Southern Gas Networks, out of pocket as he was unable to work on Sunday because he needed hospital treatment.

Describing it as a “nasty and vicious unprovoked attack”, Mr Thorp added: “I’m disgusted. He hasn’t even apologised and I would like to know why he did it. On his wages, he has more than enough money to pay for his own drinks.”

Midfielder Lawrence had been sidelined for the last six weeks with damage to his ankle ligament but played in yesterday’s derby game at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth Football Club said it was aware of the incident but did not comment on whether any further action was being taken by the club.