A gang of men accused of a vicious attack on a holidaymaker may have struck because of a footballing grudge.

Benjamin Herdman, 20, from Worth, near Crawley, and five men from Surrey are fighting extradition to Crete, where they are accused of beating their victim so badly he suffered brain damage.

Robert Hughes, then 27, a former Sutton United footballer, had his head stamped on and was stabbed with a broken bottle in the attack in June last year.

City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told yesterday a witness later recognised the name of one of the men arrested as one of Hughes’s former opponents, who was sent off after clashing with him in 2006.

Herdman and three co-defendants were bailed until a hearing on December 30, while two others were remanded in custody.

An earlier hearing was told that if they are extradited to Crete and found guilty, they could face ten years in prison.