A Bristol Rovers fan has been jailed and served with a 10-year banning order after invading the pitch following the Gas’ 0-0 draw with Forest Green Rovers in April.
James Mallett, 36, of Kingswood, was sentenced to 10 weeks in custody at Bristol Magistrates Court and must also play £128 in costs after pleading guilty to Section 4 of the Public Order offence concerning the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, and Section 4 of the Football Offences Act which covers pitch incursions.
Daniel Athey, 39, of Kingswood, received an 18-month community order at Bristol Magistrates Court, 220 hours unpaid work, a three-year banning order and must pay £280 in costs for the same two offences.
Forest Green sealed promotion to League One for the first time in their history with the goalless draw on April 23 and their fans jumped the barriers from the away end to celebrate inside the penalty area with their players and coaching staff.
Small groups of Rovers fans retaliated and walked towards the travelling supporters across the pitch, some from the opposite end of the pitch in the Thatcher’s End, before stewards and police took control of the situation.
It’s the fourth banning order issued in the wake of that game, with Richard Hathaway, 19, of Southmead, given a five-year suspension for using words or behaving in a way likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress during the pitch invasion.
Lee Wells, 38, from Oldland Common, was given a three-year football banning order and ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service for the same offence. He also was found to have entered the playing area and was in possession of a firework, flare or pyrotechnic item.
Rovers issued a statement after the match which read: "The club does not condone the actions of supporters who came onto the pitch following today’s match against Forest Green Rovers.
"Whilst we understand that emotions were high following Forest Green’s promotion, our fans should not have entered the playing confines with a view to anti-social behaviour and we would like to remind supporters that it is against EFL regulation to trespass on the pitch. The club will work with authorities to take the appropriate action to deal with those who incited violence."
Last month a 16-year-old boy was handed a fixed-period ban after admitting assaulting a Scunthorpe player during a pitch invasion in Rovers’ 7-0 victory which sealed promotion into League One.
Bristol Live understands a FA investigation into events on May 7, which saw the game suspended for 15 minutes by referee Charles Breakspear after Elliot Anderson’s goal sparked a pitch invasion, is yet to be concluded, more than a month after the game took place.
Last week, the Premier League issued new measures to tackle pitch invasions as well as missiles and pyrotechnics, following a spate of incidents towards the end of the 2021/22 season.
Stewards will be asked to accompany fans on away trips and supporters who invade the pitch will be subject not just to lifetime club bans but ones across all domestic football.
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