North London man guilty of murdering a promising footballer
Abdul-Latif Pouget was killed with a machete in Clerkenwell last October
A man has been found guilty of murdering a promising footballer in a machete attack after accidentally dropping his mobile phone at the scene.
Oguzcan Dereli, 27, fatally stabbed Abdul-Latif Pouget after the victim pulled up on his moped in Clerkenwell, central London, last October 18.
At his trial, he claiming he had acted in self-defence against Mr Pouget, 20, who was armed with two knives - including one tucked into his underwear.
A jury at the Old Bailey reject his explanation and found Dereli, of Islington, north London, guilty of murder and possession of an offensive weapon on Friday.
Previously, prosecutor Danny Robinson KC had said the victim had been riding a moped in the area and stopped on Back Hill, near Farringdon station, at about 9.27pm.
Less than a minute later, a blue Ford estate driven by Dereli turned into the road and stopped.
Mr Robinson had told jurors: "He got out of the car and as he did so he dropped his mobile phone. He did not realise that he had dropped it.
"As he left the car, he had a large machete in his right hand. He ran straight over to Mr Pouget who was still sat on his moped. He struck him with his machete and then stabbed him to his thigh."
The stab severed an artery causing "instant massive blood loss" and Mr Pouget collapsed on the ground.
The defendant got back in the car with the machete and drove off, leaving the victim "fighting for his life", Mr Robinson said.
Members of the public and police officers rushed to help, and Mr Pouget was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to Royal London Hospital where he died the next day.
Dereli was quickly identified and was arrested last October 22, although the machete was never found.
Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC remanded the defendant into custody to be sentenced on Tuesday.