Nathaniel Mendez-Laing Denies Assaulting Wife

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has denied attacking his wife after appearing in court over an allegation of assault at the couple’s Staffordshire home.

The MK Dons winger, 34, is accused of assault by beating against his wife, Saira Mendez-Laing, at their luxury property in Shenstone in June.

Police were called to the address and the former Premier League forward was arrested and later charged with assault by beating.

Mendez-Laing, who has previously played for Cardiff City and Wolves and represented England at under-17 level, appeared at Cannock magistrates’ court on Friday. Using crutches as he entered the courtroom, he spoke only to confirm his name, age and address before entering a not guilty plea to a single count of assault by beating.

The court heard that Saira, the mother of his child, was allegedly struck repeatedly over the head and suffered an arm injury during the incident. The confrontation is said to have started after a disagreement about a phone. Mendez-Laing denies any physical attack.

Charges were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service last month.

District Judge Joseph O’Connor granted the forward conditional bail and listed the case for trial in January next year.

Birmingham-born Mendez-Laing currently plays international football for Guatemala, qualifying through his mother and maternal grandmother, who were both born in the Central American country. He scored four goals in 20 Premier League appearances for Cardiff City in the 2019/20 season before leaving the club in September 2020.

He married Saira in June last year, with MK Dons marking the occasion by posting a wedding photograph and congratulations on the club’s official social media channels.

MK Dons, currently 19th in League One, said it could not comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.