‘I used to be drenched with blood’ – Footballer stabbed seven instances in practice assault breaks silence
WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Non-league footballer Jonathan Gjoshe was one of 11 people seriously injured in the Cambridgeshire train attack.
Jonathan Gjoshe is looking for a return to football after being released by Scunthorpe United.(Image: BBC Sport)
A non-league footballer who was knifed seven times during a vicious assault on a train last year has opened up about the terrifying experience for the first time.
Jonathan Gjoshe, a defender for Scunthorpe United, was among 11 people severely wounded when Anthony Williams launched a brutal attack aboard a train as it travelled through Cambridgeshire. The incident on November 1 made headlines across the globe, with Williams due to face trial later this year after being charged with 10 counts of attempted murder.
Gjoshe has previously turned down interview requests. But six months after the assault, he recounts the events that left him fearing for his life.
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“I got stabbed on the shoulder first”, the 23-year-old told BBC Sport. “I remember jumping over the table, jumping over the chairs. I was just running down the corridor, telling people, ‘there’s a guy with a knife, run, I’ve been stabbed, run, run, run’. I was screaming.
“I think I was the first person that got stabbed. I felt the pain. But adrenaline kicked in.”
Gjoshe, who was informed by medics that the blade had penetrated muscles, recalls how some passengers initially believed his warnings were a prank due to it being the day after Halloween.
He sustained wounds to his biceps, shoulder and arm before the train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon. Gjoshe managed to get off the train and was rushed to hospital.
“That split second, me jumping over the table, saved me,” he added.
“All I thought about was just running for my life, getting off that train. As I got down to the first or second carriage, I pulled the alarm, and was just drenched with blood.
“I was thinking I wasn’t going to see my family again, if I died, and that was the main worry for me. Normally I would drive back down to London. That was the first time I got on a train to go back. What’s the chance of that happening? It’s crazy.”
The injuries Gjoshe sustained have affected his career. He admits he was initially worried that he wouldn’t be able to continue playing football professionally.
“I was very worried [he would be told to stop playing]. Just thinking, ‘what damage has happened to me?’ I didn’t have a clue until I had the surgery. They said, ‘It’s not much from the nerve. You’re very lucky’.”
After months of rehab, Gjoshe managed to return to training in March. But while he is now fit, he is searching for a new club after being let go earlier this month by Scunthorpe, whose supporters started a GoFundMe to assist him during his recovery.
Gjoshe had earned the opportunity to shine with the former EFL club after being named Corinthians’ Young Player of the Year.
Having been granted dual-registration, he was loaned out to play for Bottesford Town to gain more experience and had been representing the non-league team on the same day he travelled on the train to return to London.
“Obviously [with] everything I’ve been through, I missed half a season… I didn’t get that chance that I wanted”, he said.
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Gjoshe is optimistic another club will offer him an opportunity to shine now he’s fit. “I was hoping they’d give me another year to prove that. But unfortunately, I didn’t get that. It’s quite disappointing.”
When questioned about how he maintains positivity after the ordeal, Gjoshe responds: “Listen, it’s happened, it’s life, thank God I’m alive.
“[You] can’t look back at it, just got to move on. That was the only thing on my mind, getting back to football, and hoping I was going to get that chance. You’ve only got one life. Anything can happen… So you’ve got to make the most out of it. And, it’s made me push every day.”
