Champions League - Celtic invader caged for six months
Eurosport - Sun, 23 Nov 11:26:00 2008
A teenage pitch invader who disrupted play during Celtic's Champions League match against Manchester United has been locked up for six months.
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John Murphy, 18, was also banned from attending national or international football matches for five years, one of the longest such banning orders imposed in Scotland.
Play had to be temporarily stopped during the first half when Murphy, from Glasgow, went on to the pitch during the clash at Celtic Park on November 5.
Celtic fan Murphy, of Glenavon Road, Glasgow, admitted charges of breaching the peace and being drunk in a sports ground when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court earlier this month.
Last Thursday, Celtic were fined £42,430 by UEFA for the invasion and for the late start to the game, which ended 1-1.
Sentencing Murphy on Friday, Sheriff Linda Ruxton branded his behaviour "dangerous and irresponsible".
She said: "Not only did you create a situation in which there were fears for the safety of the players on the pitch, but you interrupted a high profile match and created a situation which might easily have provoked serious public disorder.
"Furthermore, you brought Scottish football generally and Celtic Football Club in particular into disrepute and your behaviour caused the club to be fined a substantial amount."
She said she would have detained him for nine months but in view of his guilty plea she reduced it to six months.
She also imposed a football banning order which bars him from attending any regulated football match in the UK or abroad for five years.
She said: "Such a sentence is particularly designed to have a deterrent effect on others who need to appreciate that such behaviour at football matches will not be tolerated by the courts."
She admonished him on the drunkenness charge.
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Comment 1 - 9 of 29
what a shock six months that'sthe same as inciting crimes,criminal damaga and gee how do you know he wasn't a substitute and someone forgot like the leeds v stuttgart game?
He's only really tresspassed hasn't he can't they sue him?
6mnths for running onto a pitch! who did he hurt? ive seen @#$% pedos only gettin 5yrs and let out for good behaviour??? wit a joke!! and repeat junkie offenders getting 8mnths!?! so how can u justify 6mnths for being a @#$%?
He'll only do 3 months anyway, possibly less if he is entitled to a home detention curfew order (tagging) or (maximum) 18-day ECL (end of custody licence) if that operates in Scotland as it does in England & Wales. But locking him up for that? No wonder our jails are full. I would have thought a period of community service doing hard manual labour would have sufficed.
End of the day, e dont want people running onto football pitches but 6 month lol that is very extreme shoplifters get less than that, whats going to happen at fir park last home game of the season the fans like to run onto the pitch, in a celebratory way with no bad feeling ??? i see some nasty sentences lol world gone crazy
thts @#$% nuttin very serious about that it happens all time in places
he should have gone in for longer and baned for life idiots like him we dont need on football ground!
He done wrong but 6 months? Totally over the top. If youre a Polceman you can run over pedestrians or shoot innocent public and get away with it. @#$% Labour Police state.
He got what he deserved end of story.
Ah! well justice gone mad. 6 months for running on a fooball pitch, muggers get a slap on the wrist, Thats if the CPS can be bothered to prosecute.
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