City fan banned over blue flare
SUPPORTER THREW DEVICE DURING TITLE DECIDING GAME
A MANCHESTER City fan has been fined and handed a football banning order after he was captured throwing a blue smoke flare onto the pitch during last season’s frantic title decider at the Etihad stadium.
Phillip Maxwell, 29, hurled the pyrotechnic over the heads of supporters towards away fans after Rodri scored a late equaliser.
The 78th minute goal formed part of a dramatic comeback for City, who had been two goals down at home to Aston Villa and were looking like they might lose the title to Liverpool. Ilkay Gundogan’s winner three minutes later handed the Blues the trophy, prompting delirious scenes and a pitch invasion after the final whistle.
A court heard lifelong City fan Maxwel hurled one of 20 smoke flares that were thrown by supporters during the game amid a troubling increase in disorder at football matches last season.
Prosecutor Shahid Khan told Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Courton on Thursday that Maxwell threw the flare after the ‘local team’ scored an equaliser during an ‘important championship deciding match.’
Greater Manchester Police football hooligan ‘spotter,’ PC Matthew Ford, captured the incident on a hand-held camera, the court heard. The footage, which was played in court, showed a close up of Maxwell, wearing a white baseball cap, throwing the flare towards a section of Aston Villa supporters.
During the title-deciding Villa game at the Etihad, some 20 smoking flares had been thrown onto the playing area or towards opposing supporters risking ‘animosity’ between rival fans, according to PC Ford. The officer said fans who purchased them frequently didn’t appreciate the danger of the flares purchased and he referenced one supporter, aged 15, who had to be treated for ‘lung damage’ after inhaling smoke from a flare.
Chairman of the bench Sohail Ahmad told the defendant: “You have lost your good character. You have paid a big price for this stupid mistake you have made.”
Maxwell was fined £1,440 and ordered to pay £55 towards prosecution costs and a £144 victim surcharge. He was also handed a
three-year football banning order, which prohibits him from attending games at the Etihad or any other league games until June 23, 2025.
The defendant, of Anzio Row, Knowsley, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to throwing a flare at or towards the playing area during a designated football match on May 22. He also admitted a second charge of possessing a firework at a sports ground. The court heard he had served in the military and earned £30,000-a-year in his current job.
He agreed to pay off the fine at £100-a-month.