A football fan who ran on the pitch during England's Lionesses triumphant march to win Euro 2022 has been banned from going to all football matches in Britain for three years. Jack Cooper - who works as a sports coach - invaded the pitch during the Lionesses quarter-final game against Spain and ran toward the goalmouth, before being tackled by stewards.
The 21-year-old ran towards the South Stand at Brighton and Hove Albion’s Amex stadium in Falmer, East Sussex, on July 20 until he was stopped by security and arrested. It was during the England team’s winning quarter-final fixture against Spain in which Sarina Wiegman's side scored a 96th-minute winner to reach the semi-final.
The pitch invasion was seen by a sell-out crowd inside the stadium and millions also watched on TV in the UK and around the world. The Lionesses were losing 1-0 until Ella Toone equalised in the 84th minute and Georgia Stanway got the dramatic late winner.
At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday Cooper pleaded guilty to one charge of going onto the playing area of a football match. Cooper, of Burgess Hill, West Sussex, was handed to a three-year Football Banning Order. It bans him from attending professional and semi-professional football matches in the UK for three years and also puts restrictions on him travelling abroad during England away games. He was also ordered to pay a £40 fine, a £16 victim surcharge, and £85 court costs.
PC Darren Balkham, Sussex Police’s dedicated football officer, said on Friday: “This was an international tournament played to a global television audience. We have seen similar incidents like this in recent months, but entering the field at a football fixture is a criminal offence. So I am pleased with the outcome of this case. It shows that we will prosecute those who do so.”
