Protester who tied himself to goalpost at Everton v…

Protester who tied himself to goalpost at Everton v Newcastle match given six-week prison sentence

A climate change activist who tied himself to the goalpost at Newcastle's 1-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park in March has been given a six-week prison sentence.

Louis McKechnie, 21, used a metal-enforced zip tie to attach himself to by the neck to Asmir Begovic's goal in the Premier League game. He denied aggravated trespass and going onto the playing area but was found guilty at South Sefton Magistrates' Court in Bootle, Merseyside, on Friday.

McKechnie told the court the match he targeted was picked because Everton were playing Newcastle - a team sponsored by oil company Saudi Aramco. However, Newcastle United are owned by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, and are not sponsored by Aramco.

District Judge Wendy Lloyd called his actions "reckless" and "potentially very dangerous", adding: "I have no doubt from what you have told me that you’re passionate about your cause. Not very passionate about football, apparently."

He was given a six-week prison sentence for aggravated trespass, but the court heard he had already served the sentence, as he had been in custody since July. Prosecutor Simon Jones said McKechnie entered the pitch at the Gwladys Street end of the ground at the beginning of the second half of Everton vs Newcastle.

Undated handout photo issued by Merseyside Police of of Louis McKechnie, who has been sentenced to six weeks in prison at South Sefton Magistrates' Court on Friday, for aggravated trespass after tying himself to a goalpost during a match between Everton and Newcastle United at Goodison Park on March 17 (Merseyside Police/PA Wire)

The protester, wearing an orange Just Stop Oil t-shirt, was on the pitch for about 10 minutes, while stewards attempted to remove him. Footage filmed for a YouTube video showed McKechnie walking down the steps in the stand and climbing over a gate to get onto the pitch, as one fan shouted at him: "F*** off you blert."

The court heard that the match was extended by 14 minutes following the disruption and Everton scored the only goal of the game in the 99th minute through Alex Iwobi. The Toffees win came despite going down to 10-men when Allan was sent off in the 83rd minute.

PC Colin White, who arrested McKechnie after he was carried off the pitch, told the court a supporter attempted to assault the activist. He added: "At that time in the football season Everton were struggling so there was great frustration in the crowd already.

"When Mr McKechnie went onto the pitch and attached himself to the goalpost there was a lot of frustration, there was a lot of shouting, a lot of abuse and the occasional missile was being thrown onto the pitch in the direction of the goal."

McKechnie told the court Just Stop Oil was a civil resistance group which wanted the Government to act to end the use of fossil fuels. He said: "We came up with the idea of how do we get the most eyes on that name, Just Stop Oil, and of course, in this day and age, football is the biggest cultural phenomenon there is.

"Hopefully, public awareness will bring public action which might actually, if we can get the Government to listen to us, might actually save a lot of lives. If it’s a chance of saving a billion lives, it’s worth it no matter the odds."

Laura O'Brien, who defended McKechnie, said he was responding to the climate emergency and what he believed were failing democratic processes. She said: "While the world watches this billion-pound enterprise that is Premier League football, which people are captivated by, he is taking the message to them that we need to Just Stop Oil."

The court heard that McKechnie, who gave his address as HMP Altcourse, had previous convictions for aggravated trespass and wilfully obstructing the highway. He was also given a £50 fine, or one day in detention, for going onto the pitch and was made subject to a three-year football banning order. He was also ordered to pay £500 towards prosecution costs.

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