An Arsenal fan has been banned from attending football matches after “getting excited” and throwing a bottle at the pitch at Anfield.
Abdul Hassan was watching Arsenal play Liverpool in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final between the two teams on January 13 this year.
Liverpool drew that match but went on to win the second leg 2-0. That set up a final against Chelsea last weekend, with the Reds winning 11-10 on penalties.
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Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard today that Hassan, from Stratford in London, threw an empty plastic bottle at the pitch in what his counsel described as a “stupid” and “impulsive” episode.
Tom Hanlon, prosecuting, said the 33-year-old told police he got excited when he saw Arsenal run the ball down the pitch and threw an empty plastic bottle towards it.
Hassan was later charged with throwing a missile at a football match and pleaded guilty last month.
Rachel Oakdene, defending, asked District Judge James Hatton not to impose a football banning order, saying Hassan had acted with no bad intent and that he deeply regretted his actions.
She said: “He says, as my friend said when opening the case, that he was excited.
“This was an act of stupidity in my submission, rather than football hooliganism.”
Ms Oakdene said she felt the specifics of Hassan’s case and the strict nature of banning orders, such as a non-negotiable requirement for an individual to hand in their passport whenever England play, were too severe.
She said: “It would seem that the consequences of making a football banning order in this case would be disproportionate.”
“It was an isolated incident, it was stupid and it was impulsive.”
However, District Judge Hatton said that though Hassan’s behaviour appeared stupid rather than sinister it was the type of action that could lead to more widespread disorder.
District Judge Hatton said: “The point is that who knows what could have happened - and there is a consequence for behaviour like that at football matches.
“The person beside him might have decided to throw their bottler or throw a coin or something else.
“Most people, when they go to a football game, know that they have to behave with a modicum of common sense.”
He added that Hassan’s previous convictions for offences involving violence and offensive weapons, though not in a footballing context, increased the argument for a ban.
However, he agreed to alter the terms of the banning order to assist Hassan in being able to continue his work as a courier and to lessen the order's severity.
He will not be able to go near the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal’s home ground, in the hours immediately before and after a match.
That requirement will apply to other stadiums when Arsenal play away from home and he will also be barred from attending any regulated football match.
Hassan, of Memorial Avenue, Stratford, London, was also fined £370 and will have to pay prosecution costs and the statutory surcharge.
