Footy fan in court

[Mike W.]

Just to say that the FSF today received the following message from a footy fan who appeared in court. It is often taken for granted that football fans WILL be banned, but you will see from the following that this has not happened. The guy feels that in great part this is due to the help he has received from the Football Supporters Federation - who arranged a good lawyer for him. Any readers who get in similar situations might do worse than contacting the FSF and seeking advice. You may not get off, but the best steps will be taken to ensure that at least you do get your rights.

Mike W.
SEcretary FSF

The message received is -

I am writing to let you Know how I got on in court today, It was really good I pleaded guilty and received a £200 fine and a caution I feel this is a great outcome as I know I have done wrong and understand this but it also allows me to still attend football. The court said over the 9 year I have followed Newcastle united both home and away at a relatively young age and I have an exceptional record without any other previous football related trouble with the police. They were happy to issue a fine and caution and put this down to naivety and lack of experience more then anything.

I cant thank you enough for what you have and the FSF have done for me in starting the process into securing legal aid for the case. The 1st moments I contacted the FSF I felt I was in really good hands and always felt confident. I will not hesitate to recommend the FSF to any football fan in trouble in the future as you are a great help.

I would also like to thank you for referring me to melanie cooke she was excellent with this situation and a very very helpful women, she has helped me a great deal in securing a barrister for the case and also sorting paperwork for me and generally keeping in touch to what was happening. I can not thank her enough either for what she has done , and again will not hesitate to recommend her in the future, like wise the barrister she secured me who is a very skilled man and excellent to work with.

I can not but help think if I didn't get told about the FSF then I would be sitting here with a 3 year football banning order which would have been a nightmare! I am defiantly going to spread the word about the FSF to many other fans I meet all over the country and tell them about the great services they offer to football fans who are in trouble.

Once again thank you very much

[mrpotatohead]

Barrister would have been a minimum £1500 a day, in or out of court

[wijit]

You can't do "nothing wrong", plead guilty and be happy at the outcome. If he's pleaded guilty then he's accepted he broke a law, and by the looks of it, got off quite well if it was football related.

[Keith]

You can't do "nothing wrong", plead guilty and be happy at the outcome. If he's pleaded guilty then he's accepted he broke a law, and by the looks of it, got off quite well if it was football related.

Not sure if you 'speed read' it or if there is another comment somewhere else, but based upon Mike's comment from the guy...

The message received is -

It was really good I pleaded guilty and received a £200 fine and a caution I feel this is a great outcome as I know I have done wrong and understand this