AFL spat lands Aussie sailors in US jail

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Wednesday November 28, 07:26 AM
AFL spat lands Aussie sailors in US jail
Two Australian Navy sailors jailed in California for a vicious fight with an American man about the merits of Aussie rules football will learn on Wednesday if US prosecutors will pursue serious assault charges against them.

Philip Graeme Ferres, 26, and Kolis Barba, 24, have been locked up in San Diego's Central Jail since their arrest in the early hours of Thursday morning.




Police accuse them of hitting and kicking their alleged victim, breaking his eye socket, after an argument flared at a party about Australian rules football and America's gridiron.

The alleged victim, a 28-year-old San Diego man, was a fan of gridiron while the Australians were talking up the virtues of AFL, which led to the fight, police said.

A spokesperson for the San Diego District Attorney's office said prosecutors were mulling over the evidence on Wednesday to decide what charges, if any, will be filed against the two sailors, who arrived in the southern Californian city aboard the HMAS Sydney last week.

If charges are laid, Ferres and Barba will likely appear before a San Diego judge on Thursday.

San Diego police booked the Australians on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, with the deadly weapon being their feet.

The American man was hospitalised.

Ferres and Barba claimed they acted in self defence.

They feared for their lives because they believed their alleged victim would get a weapon, police said.

The HMAS Sydney, which was moored at the US Naval Base San Diego for five days, left San Diego on Saturday without the two men.