Kerry Dixon Found Guilty of Assault: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Former Chelsea player Kerry Dixon will serve nine months in prison for assault after being sentenced on Friday, as reported by Sky Sports News HQ.

As noted by ITV.com, the 53-year-old, who also represented England on eight occasions, was found guilty of punching and kicking another man in Bedfordshire pub the Nags Head.

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Dixon stated he was acting in self defence, according to the BBC, claiming he feared he was going to be attacked by 38-year-old Ben Scoble in an incident in May 2014. The piece states that the victim of the assault is said to have called the former striker a “fatso.”

Judge Barbara Mensah, who sentenced the Blues icon, described the attack as “shocking and sickening to watch,” per Dani Bailey of BBC. Mensah told Dixon she had "taken the view that this is a serious assault."

The Judge went into further details about the incident, per the Press Association via the Guardian: "You were not just striking him, knocking him off his bar stool, but continuing to strike him when he was on the ground. Then you continued to pummel him on the ground."

Jason Gibbins of the Banbury Guardian, who describes Dixon as his “childhood hero,” expressed hope that Dixon could "turn his life around" after the conviction:

Dixon made over 400 appearances for Chelsea, per the BBC, scoring 193 goals in the process. He is the Blues’ third-highest goalscorer of all time behind Frank Lampard and Bobby Tambling.

It's not Dixon's first run-in with the law since quitting football. As noted by Joe Bernstein for MailOnline, the former Chelsea star was convicted of drink-driving in 2000 and cautioned for common assault in 2002. The piece claims that Dixon has suffered with alcohol and gambling addictions.