Two football fans who set off smoke bombs inside Old Trafford have been banned from attending matches. Andrew Chambers and Bradley Lilliman set the flares off after smuggling them into the FA Youth Cup final between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest at on May 11.
United won the match 3-1 in front of a crowd of more than 67,000. Chambers, 55, and Lilliman, 18, were later charged with possession of a flare at a sporting event.
The pair received three-year football banning orders at Manchester Magistrates' Court last Tuesday (June 28) after pleading guilty to the charge. Chambers, of Shirland Drive, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, was ordered to pay costs of £107 and Lilliman, of Victoria Street, Newark, Nottinghamshire, was also ordered to pay a surcharge of £22.
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Nottinghamshire Police are now warning about the consequences of taking pyrotechnics into football stadiums. Inspector Craig Berry, of the force's football unit, said: "A new European-inspired culture appears to be emerging within football supporters across the country, where setting off of pyrotechnics inside football grounds is seen as acceptable and normal.
"While most will not have any ulterior motives other than the belief they are creating or contributing to the atmosphere inside the ground, it is important that people realise that letting off these devices inside stadiums is illegal for a reason. Smoke bombs can be dangerous, both for those who are carrying them and those in the close vicinity when they're activated.
"As these supporters have found out to their cost, smuggling these items into grounds is a criminal offence that can lead to a football banning order of up to five years. The message is clear: such devices are dangerous and are not welcome within football stadiums."
Alan Bexon, head of operations at Nottingham Forest, said: "Sadly we have seen an increase in the usage of pyrotechnics within stadiums from supporters and we have had several incidents as a result of their usage. Other fans have suffered breathing difficulties and one young fan had such a device land in his hood which, as you can imagine, was alarming for both him and his family. As a club we take a strong stance on the illegal usage of pyrotechnics and feel it is right that these offenders have received football banning orders."
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