Maths teacher butted rival shinty player after match

● Education chiefs issue sanction but don’t strike him off

A maths teacher has been reprimanded after he was convicted of butting an opponent at the end of a shinty match.

Liam Macintyre, 35, attacked a rival player after a brawl erupted when his team was awarded a disputed lastminute goal at the game in Glasgow.

He was charged with assault following the incident and fined £750. He was also ordered to pay his victim £500 after being convicted at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

The incident happened when Macintyre was playing for Fort William against Glasgow Mid Argyll in the first round of the Camanachd Cup. However, he did not immediately inform his bosses at South Lanarkshire Council about the case.

Macintyre, who works at various high schools in the area, has represented Scotland at shinty.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), following a hearing in Edinburgh, decided his fitness to practise was impaired.

During the hearing, Macintyre also admitted behaving in an “intimidating and aggressive manner” towards a colleague.

The GTCS also heard he had previous court convictions for assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest during an incident in his home town of Oban in 2008.

The panel decided not to strike him off but instead imposed a reprimand and a one-year conditional registration order.

In a written ruling, the GTCS said: “At the end of the game the teacher described how he approached the referee to discuss an assault on one of his players which he believed should have resulted in a red card. His actions angered the opposing team, some of whom surrounded him. There was a confrontation, which led to the conduct described in the allegation, namely a headbutt resulting in an opposition player’s severe injury.”

The disciplinary panel added: “In the panel’s view, the teacher’s conduct did fall significantly short of the standards expected of a registered teacher. The incidents, each of which gave rise to criminal convictions, were plainly serious.”

Macintyre was convicted of butting his victim on the head to his severe injury following the shinty match in 2014. He appeared in court in May 2016.

A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Council, said: “We are aware of and have noted the GTCS hearing outcome.”