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Football hooligan jailed and banned
CHELSEA supporter Justin Billington has been jailed for 12 months for his part in violent scenes that followed an Fa Cup tie.
The 40-year-old, of Oberon Close, Rugby, was also banned from football matches for six years last week after pleading guilty to violent disorder at Isleworth Crown Court in London.
Billington and fellow Chelsea fan Colin Flanagan, a 34-year-old Londoner, were captured on CCTV running towards Cardiff City supporters and attacking them while on the ground.
The violence brought parts of West London to a standstill following the cup tie last February.
The court was told there had been too few police officers at the scene to quell the initial disorder as hundreds of fans poured onto the streets, brawling and hurling missiles at each other and the police.
Prosecutor Howard Tobias said: “The reputation of the fans and the two clubs alerted police to the high probability of spontaneous and pre-planned disorder. It was believed violence would occur.”
The chaotic scenes caused passers-by to fear for their safety, the prosecutor added. Billington was seen on CCTV “where he runs towards a Cardiff supporter and kicks and punches out at him while he is on the floor.”
A total of 96 supporters from both sides have been charged with offences and are scheduled to appear at the London court.
The game was placed as category C-plus - the highest for expected violence – by police, who filmed the disorder from a helicopter.
Judge Martin Edmunds told Billington and Flanagan that their roles in the violence were so serious that only an immediate prison sentence could be
justified. He jailed them both for 12 months and imposed six-year football match bans.
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Friday 18 May 2012
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