Football fan with flare at Molineux spared ban

Ashton Marshall, aged 18, was thrown out of the stadium during Wolves home game against Stevenage on November 2 after stewards saw him carrying a flare.

But magistrates said the fact he was 17 at the time of the incident and his previous good character were reasons enough not to impose an order preventing him from attending future matches.

Wolverhampton Magistrates Court heard Marshall was among a group of Stevenage fans in the Stan Cullis Stand when one of his friends set off a flare.

Mr Chris Coughlan, prosecuting, said: "The defendant was identified as being amongst a group of supporters near to where the flare had been lit. Stewards entered the crowd and removed Mr Marshall and another man onto the concourse.

"When he was searched he was found to be in possession of a flare. He was ejected from the stadium and later identified using CCTV by a police officer from Hertfordshire. This was a police-free event, and as such no officers were on duty inside the stadium."

Mr Mandeep Bassi, defending, said A-Level student Marshall had been a season ticket holder at Stevenage Football Club for the previous seven years. "In all those years this is the first time he has been in trouble," he said.

"He was at the game with a group of friends and one of them let off a flare. When he was searched a flare was found on him. He knows he has made a massive mistake by taking the flare into the stadium and he has not tried to justify what he has done."

Magistrate Mrs Helen Brooks told Marshall: "This is potentially a very serious case. If the flare had gone off it could have caused injury to the people around you. Because you were 17 at the time of the offence and have previous good character we are not going to issue you with a banning order."

Marshall, of Pembridge Gardens, Stevenage, pleaded guilty to possessing a firework while trying to enter a designated sports ground. He was fined £73, ordered to pay costs of £85 plus a £20 victim surcharge.