A mindless Newcastle fan punched a traffic management worker as he was leaving a match at St James' Park.
The victim was in the process of helping to close a road near St James' Park when he was approached by drunk Reece Jefferson, who bizarrely asked to borrow his van. When his request was refused, the 28-year-old lashed out in a fit of rage and punched the man to the chest, causing him to fall backwards, a court heard.
Jefferson, of Pooley Road, in Slatyford, Newcastle, ran from the scene but was easily identified and arrested. He appeared at Newcastle Magistrates' Court this week to plead guilty to assault by beating and was ordered to pay his victim £150 in compensation.
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Sentencing him, District Judge Paul Currer said: "This was an unpleasant incident where you got yourself involved, completely unnecessarily, with someone doing their job on a match day. You accept you had drunk too much and it led to your offending.
"Since then, you have been to custody in relation to other matters and, since then, you have put yourself on the right track."
The court heard that Jefferson had been at the Newcastle versus Chelsea match at St James' Park on November 12 last year and admitted that he had been drinking. Rob Lawson, prosecuting, added: "The complainant and a witness were closing the road outside St James' Park. They were using a van.
"The defendant approached and asked if he could borrow the van because he knew someone who worked there. When that was refused, he ended up punching the complainant to the chest, knocking him backwards. The defendant then ran away."
The court was told that Jefferson's behaviour had left the victim feeling "apprehensive" about going to work as he didn't deserve to be struck and hadn't provoked it. Jefferson, who has since served a prison sentence for an unrelated matter, said he was remorseful.
Jack Lovell, defending, added: "He foolishly spoke to the man in question. That led to an argument and he fully accepts using violence thereafter. At that time, he was struggling with alcohol abuse." Mr Lovell said Jefferson had now stopped drinking and had found a job.
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