FOOTBALL BANNING ORDER; AN OWN GOAL?

 08. Apr. 2010. – 11:03:36 

Magistrates and courts are often the subject of criticism from those who consider that "the courts aren`t tough enough" and from the literary or liberal end of the critical spectrum of sending too many defendants into Her Majesty`s care for short summer holidays at £600 per week to live alongside two others to eat and defecate in a concreted room about eleven feet by eight. For those at the receiving end of a sentence pronouncement their reactions are occasionally almost as much a comedy as a tragedy.

Such was the case with Darren D a few weeks ago. He was a nineteen year old who had been cautioned once as a youth. He was before us for being drunk and disorderly in the street close to the local League 2 football club where his team Darlington, currently bottom of the league, were playing away. His behaviour had been provoking home fans into returning his swearing and obscene gestures ten fold when despite warnings to desist he had left local police with little option but to arrest and subsequently charge him. 

After his guilty plea he was informed of the amount of his fine and costs which were calculated according to his very low income but the moment that raised a hard to suppress smile on the faces of all those in court was when he was told that he would be subject to a twelve month Football Banning Order; "Thank you your honour, who`d want to see another year of that f*** ing team`s s*** football anyway". 

In that case perhaps we were the ones who`d scored an own goal.....the defendant liked the sentence or at least part of it.