WARNING GRAPHIC PICTURE: A former Football League goalkeeper has claimed he is lucky to be alive after he was stabbed 14 times and beaten in his home by three men in a raid
Former Brentford star Olafur Gottskalksson says he is lucky to be alive after he was stabbed in a home attack.
Gottskalksson, 58, played for Hibernian between 1997 and 2000 before moving to London to sign for Brentford, where he spent two years and made 73 appearances for the now Premier League club. After returning to play in his homeland briefly, the 10-time Iceland international played for Kent non-league side Margate and Torquay United.
The former keeper opened up on his terrifying ordeal in a social media post, explaining that he is still recovering after an assault and robbery in his Iceland home. Gottskalksson said he was stabbed 14 times by three men who also beat him with a knuckleduster before stealing Apple products and other expensive items in the burglary on February 4.
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The Keflavik-born keeper claims he was hit 25 times over the head and was almost blinded in one eye. He shared pictures of his wounds on Facebook and revealed he needed stitches for five of the injuries.
Gottskalksson said: “People have died from fewer injuries. To be able to still be here today, and be able to speak for myself, is something I’m grateful for.
“I know the three men who attacked me. I have never done anything to them. I hope they realise they could so easily have been on trial for murder.”
Gottskalksson said he could not report the attack immediately because the raiders had stolen all his phones and devices.
The former stopper has endured a turbulent life and was slapped with a lifetime ban by the FA in 2005 after refusing to take a drugs test following a game for Torquay.
Gottskalksson was also hit with jail terms totalling 14 months in Iceland in 2010 and 2011 for housebreaking, robbery and violence.
He was also arrested for drink driving a decade ago with his five-year-old son in the car. Gottskalksson was treated for injuries including broken ribs and internal bleeding a few days after the incident, claiming the police caused the injuries during the arrest.