An ex-professional footballer on trial for stabbing an Iranian journalist has blamed the attack on an accomplice who is not in the dock, telling a jury he was too scared of the man to go to the police.
Badea points finger at David Andrei
Nandito Badea, 21, a former midfielder for Romanian clubs Astra and Blejoi who came to England for construction work after his football career ended, told Woolwich Crown Court that he believed he was only conducting surveillance on a man said to be having an affair with another man’s wife. He claimed that a man named David Andrei – who has not been charged and could not be extradited from Romania because of domestic proceedings there – came up from behind and stabbed journalist Pouria Zeraati in the thigh outside his home in Wimbledon on 29 March 2024.
“I saw him when he was behind him. I was not expecting him to come from behind,” Badea said. “I saw David taking a knife out of his pocket. Then he stepped one step towards him. He stabbed him. I ran away. I got afraid. I was not expecting something like that.”
Badea said he had followed Andrei’s instructions to approach Mr Zeraati and ask him for £3, thinking Andrei would then join them and “speak with the gentleman” about the alleged affair. He told the jury: “I had no reason to believe that man would suffer any harm or anything.”
‘Scared’ of the man who carried out the stabbing
Throughout his testimony, Badea repeatedly emphasised his fear of Andrei, who he said slapped and threatened him when he later said he intended to tell the authorities what had happened. The former footballer recalled being pushed by Andrei at one point after the stabbing, saying: “My legs were failing me, I was scared of what I saw.”
Badea told the court that after the attack he changed his clothes and threw them in a bin because Andrei asked him to. “I did it because I was afraid of him and I was afraid of what he did to that gentleman,” he said. Later, when they were in Switzerland, Badea said he confronted Andrei: “I asked him, ‘Why did you do that? Do you intend to end up in prison?’ I said I was going to tell the authorities what happened. He got angry. We had an argument and he slapped me – once but very hard. He said, ‘You will never go to the police because I will take care of you’.”
Badea said he tried to find someone “to contact the British authorities and tell the truth of what happened”, and spoke to two other men who knew about the allegations concerning the affair. “They told me my family would suffer repercussions if I were to tell the authorities,” he claimed.
He stressed that “at no point” was he laughing, contradicting an eyewitness account previously heard by the jury. Witnesses had described seeing two men in black tracksuits running from the scene, appearing “jovial”, “smiling” and “laughing amongst themselves”. Jack Upton told the court he saw “two figures in black tracksuits seeming to be sprinting quite fast towards us” before they “jumped into a car”. Michael Row recalled the car “immediately sped off – I’m not even sure one of the doors was closed as the car started moving”. Another witness, Elsa Izac, said she had observed two men acting “very suspiciously” before the stabbing, “as if they were spying on someone”.
Getaway and attempted flight
After the stabbing, Badea said he ran, followed by Andrei, to a waiting Mazda with George Stana, 25, at the wheel. Badea told Stana: “Drive quickly, drive quickly, David stabbed him.” The pair then headed to Heathrow Airport, ordering a taxi via the Bolt app with the drop-off location initially set to Tottenham, then adjusted to Luton, and finally the airport. They fled to Geneva in Switzerland.
Both Badea and Stana, who are Romanian nationals, have pleaded not guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and wounding. They were arrested in Romania and extradited to the UK in December 2024. David Andrei was also arrested in Romania but could not be brought to the UK because of ongoing domestic proceedings.
Prosecutors allege the attack was “a planned attack preceded by reconnaissance, and which was ordered by a third party acting on behalf of the Iranian state”. The Crown Prosecution Service authorised charges after a review of evidence from the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command. Financial records presented in court show thousands of pounds were paid to Badea and Stana through a west London construction company, Hemroc Ltd, and via Stana’s sister, Florina. Prosecutors say the money was used for daily expenses and accommodation while the men conducted surveillance. CCTV footage of the getaway was also shown to the jury.
The court has heard that Pouria Zeraati is a journalist and presenter for Iran International, a Persian-language news network critical of the Iranian government. The Iranian regime has designated the outlet as a “terrorist organisation” and branded its journalists “a network of spies”. Under threat against its staff and their families, Iran International temporarily relocated its broadcasting operations from Chiswick, west London, to Washington DC in February 2023. In January 2024, the UK announced sanctions related to a plot to assassinate two Iran International presenters on British soil. UN experts have said threats and violence against the channel’s journalists are part of a broader pattern of repression.
Mr Zeraati, who studied mechanical engineering at Brunel University London before moving into journalism, has described the stabbing as a “warning shot” from the Iranian regime and said “the show must go on”. In July 2024, he confirmed he had moved abroad to a safer location, stating that the UK’s strategy could not guarantee his safety.
Badea, questioned by his defence counsel David Spens KC, said he had no idea that Mr Zeraati was a journalist expressing views against the Iranian regime. He claimed that in March 2024 he had not heard of a UK-based firm or a number of people the prosecution say can be linked to the funding of the plot. “No, I had no idea,” he replied. He insisted he was “in no way” paid for what happened.
Stana, who is accused of being the getaway driver, has said he was misled and paid to “beat someone up” but did not know a stabbing would occur. He admitted driving the attackers to the scene and sharing the money.
The trial continues at Woolwich Crown Court.
