A FOOTBALL fan who shouted “come on” at Huddersfield Town supporters and leaped over a barrier has avoided being banned from future matches.
Rotherham United supporter Thomas Firth and his friends attended the match at the John Smith’s Stadium on August 23.
He was stood in the South Stand with other away fans and segregated from Town supporters, prosecutor Vanessa Jones told Kirklees Magistrates’ Court.
When Town scored a goal shortly before 9pm, the 19-year-old began to shout towards the home supporters.
Mrs Jones explained: “The defendant was making hand gestures and jumped over the barrier in an attempt to get to the Town supporters.
“He was shouting “come on “ with his arms wide.
“This was provocative but he was arrested before it could go any further.”
Firth pleaded guilty to a charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour.
Magistrates were asked to consider making a football banning order preventing the teenager from attending matches in the future.
But his solicitor Jonathan Slawinski argued that his behaviour that day was stupidity rather than anything else.
He said: “The defendant is of previous good character and has no propensity for violence.
“He stepped over the barrier and was straight in front of the stewards.
“It was a stupid, one-off incident where he was disengaging his brain from the rest of his body and reacted.”
Mr Slawinski told the Huddersfield court that the kinds of football-related offending seen in the courts is very different today.
He said: “In the 80’s football violence was rife and there used to be fans pouring over each other to get to each other.
“All we get now from these cases in courts is people gesticulating towards each other, juvenile delinquent behaviour and that’s it.
“My client is a nice lad, not a football thug.
“He’s just an emotional individual who over celebrated and was really stupid.
“Had it been in the town centre he would have been cautioned - he had to come to court because it was football-related.”
Magistrates did not issue Firth, of Farm View Road in Rotherham, with a football banning order.
They said they were satisfied that he did not show a propensity for violence and it was a one-off incident.
Firth was instead fined £80 and told to pay £85 costs and £30 victim surcharge.
