Ireland and Ulster rugby captain Rory Best is to be a character witness at the trial of two teammates for rape.
By Dylan O’Sullivan
Theeyeofmedia.com heard that Best, who led the Irish team to victory against France in the Six Nations tournament on Saturday is to assist the trial of Stuart Olding, 24, and Paddy Jackson, 26, who is accused of rape.
The Ireland and Ulster rugby players are accused of raping the same alleged victim at a property in south Belfast in June 2016. Jackson is also charged with sexual assault.
Best told a press conference after the match in Paris that he has been called in as a character witness.
“I was advised it was important to attend[court], so I got both sides of the story.
“Because it’s an ongoing legal matter, I will make no further comment than that.”
Fellow Lions, Ireland and Ulster star Iain Henderson were at the court last week.
Ireland and Ulster winger Craig Gilroy was also present at the trial on Wednesday, as was Ulster prop Kyle McCall.
Alliance Party Northern Ireland Assembly member Paula Bradshaw said she had written to Ulster Rugby asking what guidance was provided to its team members in relation to attending the rape trial.
It is unclear what relevance being a character witness will have on a trial that should ultimately hinge on hard evidence, but such is the desperation to clear the name of the accused, that a character witness has been called up, It is possible that if the evidence against the accused is not strong enough, the character witness may just sway the case in the favour of the defendants,