A jury has been sworn in to try three men accused of killing footballer Cody Fisher, who was stabbed inside a nightclub on Boxing Day.
Kami Carpenter, 22, Remy Gordon, 23, and 19-year-old Reegan Anderson all deny murdering Mr Fisher at the Crane nightclub in Digbeth, Birmingham, shortly before midnight on December 26 2022.
The three men appeared in the dock at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday as a jury was selected ahead of a trial which is expected to last for six weeks.
Gordon, of Cofton Park Drive, Birmingham, and Carpenter and Anderson, both of no fixed address, also deny a charge of affray.
Mr Fisher, a 23-year-old former Birmingham City academy member who also played for Stratford Town and Bromsgrove Sporting, died from a stab wound.
The jury of seven women and five men is expected to hear the prosecution open its case on Tuesday.
After the charges faced by the defendants were read to the jurors, trial judge Paul Farrer KC told them: “You know the three defendants face an allegation of murder.
“It follows, doesn’t it, that this is the type of case that has the potential to excite emotion.
“Self-evidently, you are here to ensure this is a fair trial, and that involves, doesn’t it, you considering the evidence in this case objectively and dispassionately.
“However human emotion might be, it has no place in your decision-making process. You must take a firm hold of emotions such as anger and sympathy and put them on one side.”
