Teen Charged With Murdering Ex Junior Footballer

2 January 2017, 17:04 | Updated: 2 January 2017, 17:12

A 16-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with the murder of a former junior footballer, who was described as a "true gentleman".

Shaun Woodburn, 30, died following a disturbance near a pub in Edinburgh the early hours of New Year's Day.

He was found with serious injuries at about 2am in Great Junction Street, in the Leith area, and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he died later on Sunday.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, was charged with murder when he appeared in private at the city's sheriff court on Monday.

The teenager, from the Scottish capital, also faced a second charge under the Criminal Justice Licensing (Scotland) Act.

He made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody, the Crown Office confirmed. He is expected to return to court in about a week.

Another teenager, 18-year-old Mohammed Zakariyah, of Edinburgh, appeared at the petition hearing to face a charge of assault to injury. He was also charged under the Criminal Justice Licensing (Scotland) Act.

Zakariyah made no plea or declaration and was released on bail.

Earlier, junior football team Bonnyrigg Rose led tributes to Mr Woodburn, a former player who was with the club for more than three years.

A tribute posted on the Bonnyrigg Rose website read: "We would like to express our deepest condolences to the young family and friends of Shaun Woodburn who passed away in tragic circumstances yesterday.

"Shaun was a true gentleman during his time at the club, from February 2012 to July 2015, before he decided to take a break from football to concentrate on his young family.

"He didn't have a bad word to say about anyone and nobody had a bad word to say about him, which makes this all the harder to understand.

"Still only 30 he had his whole young life ahead of him to look forward to. Am sure like many of our supporters who have heard the news over the past 24 hours and who knew Shaun, we are truly heartbroken.

"We also offer our condolences to Newtongrange Star, Whitehill Welfare and Loanhead Amateurs who will be coming to terms with this terrible news in the same way that we are.

"Our flag is currently flying at half mast at the ground and tributes to Shaun can be laid at our new entrance gates near the dressing rooms."