The Liverpool captain was arrested on December 29 2008 after police were called to the Lounge Bar nightclub in Southport, north of Liverpool, in northwest England.

At a court hearing in April, Gerrard pleaded not guilty to a charge of affray in relation to the brawl.

As the trial started on Tuesday, five of his co-defendants pleaded guilty to affray, and another admitted a lesser charge of threatening behaviour, the Press Association reported.

Gerrard signed a two-year contract extension in April that will keep him at Anfield until at least 2013, and Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has said the club are fully behind their captain.

(Reporting by Kate Kelland. Editing by Nigel Hunt)