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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
National
Geoffrey Bennett

Judge imposes penalties after trouble kicked off at Bristol City v Swansea

Seventeen men have now appeared in court over disorder around a Bristol City v Swansea football match in Bristol in February.

Since March six men have been jailed for a total of 56 weeks for public order offences.

The latest to appear in court was Nigel Pritchard, 53, of Swansea.

District Judge Lynne Matthews jailed him for six weeks on June 27. He must pay £115 court costs and received a six-year Football Banning Order (FBO).

The others’ jail terms were between six and 16 weeks.

One defendant was from Swansea, one was from Wellington and three were from Bristol. All are aged between 24 and 52.

The court handed five men suspended prison terms ranging from six to 24 weeks.

The men must also complete between 200 and 240 hours of unpaid community work. If they break the conditions of their sentence within the next 12 to 14 months they will go to prison.

In all 21 men were identified by a police investigation involving Avon and Somerset Police, South Wales Police, British Transport Police, Bristol City FC, Swansea FC and Ashton Gate Stadium.

“outrageous”, “loutish” and “despicable”

Some were handed exclusion orders to stay away from grounds during matches.

During the hearings DJ Matthews described the behaviour on the day as “outrageous”, “loutish” and “despicable”, adding that Bristol residents were sick and tired of football violence in the city.

Detective Inspector David Lewis, who is leading the investigation, said: "Football can attract a very small minority interested in causing disorder, rather than the game.

"We’ll continue to work with colleagues from other forces and the clubs themselves to make sure genuine fans can enjoy matches safely.

"I hope these sentences show how seriously we and the courts take these offences and will reassure real football supporters.

"Violence around football matches will lead to jail time.”

Bristol City chief executive officer Mark Ashton said: “We are very supportive of the action taken by Avon and Somerset Police and other agencies in bringing these individuals to justice and we fully applaud the decisions of the court.

"Ashton Gate Stadium has a very strong record of match day safety and zero tolerance towards crowd disorder.

"Mark Kelly and his staff deserve a lot of credit for their match day management.”

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