Private school coach guilty of pitch invasion
A PRIVATE school squash coach yesterday admitted his part in a pitch invasion at the end of the Scottish Cup final.
Greg Binnie, 19, pleaded guilty to running at and making offensive gestures towards Rangers’ goalkeeper Wes Foderingham at Hampden Park last Saturday.
The sports coaching student, who has since been suspended from his part-time job at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh, was in the dock at Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday after appearing from custody.
He was charged under the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act of being engaged in behaviour which was likely to incite trouble.
The court heard Binnie climbed over fencing and on to the pitch immediately after the conclusion of the match between Rangers and Hibs, which Hibs won 3-2 after a last-minute goal.
It was said that he ran at Foderingham and gestured in an offensive manner.
Procurator fiscal depute Kathleen O’Donnell told the court that Binnie had no previous convictions and said she would be asking for a football banning order to be imposed on him.
Defence lawyer Joe Murphy said: ‘This has given Mr Binnie and his family a lot of trouble since the weekend.
‘Threats have been made to him and members of his family. He is deeply ashamed of becoming involved in this behaviour.
‘He is a student and he has part-time employment which may be affected by this.
‘He has faced up to his responsibility.’
No details of the incident involving Binnie, a former Scottish Football Association intern, other than the charge which he admitted were heard in court after Sheriff Ian Miller declined to hear the facts until a background report had been prepared.
The case was deferred until next month and Binnie, from Ratho, Midlothian, was granted bail.
Last night, a spokesman for George Watson’s said that the school was unaware of Binnie’s appearance at court.
Meanwhile, another teenager
‘He is deeply ashamed’
appeared on petition at the same court accused of assaulting Rangers players Lee Wallace and Jason Holt.
Dale Pryde, from Edinburgh, is accused of running towards and attempting to punch Wallace on the head at Hampden Park, and attempting to punch Holt.
He is also accused of breaching the peace by running on to the pitch towards Rangers supporters and brandishing a chair.
He made no plea or declaration and was released on bail by Sheriff Linda Ruxton. He is expected to appear again at a later date. Yesterday, police investigating the pitch invasion set up an email address for fans to send footage and photos of the disturbance.
Officers have arrested or reported to the procurator fiscal 15 people since the scenes which marred the end of the game.
An inquiry team has been set up to investigate the incident and police are reviewing photographs and videos, including CCTV footage, to identify culprits.
The lead officer in the investigation, Detective Superintendent Kenny Graham, stressed that Police Scotland wants to identify those responsible for criminal acts and not people who were ‘caught up in the crowd’.
The victory by Hibs over Rangers, thanks to an injury-time goal, brought their first Scottish Cup win in 114 years.
Thousands of Hibs supporters flooded on to the pitch following the Edinburgh team’s dramatic win and Rangers said their players and staff were assaulted.
Fans of the Glasgow side also made it past stewards and on to the pitch, leading to clashes between the rival sets of supporters before mounted officers restored order.