Pitch invasion fans jailed

The match had to be abandoned

Four Airdrie supporters who caused the abandonment of the club's last ever match after invading the pitch have been described as "spoiled children" by a sheriff.

Alexander Roy, Keith Main, John Cooper and Kevin Smith were found guilty of breaking the goalposts at Ayr United's Somerset Park in April last year.

Sheriff John McGowan said the men, all from Airdrie, had "thrown their toys out of the pram".

They ran onto the pitch after Ayr's Stewart Kean gave the home side the lead after 21 minutes.

Referee Bobby Orr had to abandon the First Division game, the last of the season, after the goalposts were broken.

The points were awarded to Ayr and the match proved to be the last in the history of Airdrieonians Football Club, which went into liquidation.

'Tense situation'

However, the club's name lived on when Airdrie United took over Second Division club Clydebank during the close season.

Lawyer Ricky Hutchison, representing Roy, said the fears over the club's future had created a tense situation.

"The struggle to keep the club alive was the focus of their lives," he told Ayr Sheriff Court.

"There had been no specific plan to invade the pitch. It was a spontaneous reaction by Mr Roy and many other people."

It is a matter of the utmost importance that football matches in this country should be allowed to progress in a normal manner Sheriff John McGowan

Solicitor Alan Cox, representing Main, added: "These guys were not casuals, they were people who passionately followed their team and were passionately wound up.

"The last thing they wanted was for the match to be abandoned."

The four men were found guilty of conducting themselves in a disorderly manner.

Cooper, 29, and Smith, 26, were both jailed for three months while Main, 33, was sentenced to two months in prison.

Roy, 34, was placed on probation for 12 months, ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service and told to pay Ayr United £300 in compensation.

Sheriff John McGowan said Cooper had been the orchestrator and organiser of the pitch invasion.

'Well outnumbered'

"The fact that nothing more serious happened on the day was entirely down to the good sense of the Ayr United fans, who must be praised for their behaviour," he said.

"There were only a couple of hundred of Airdrie fans and around 2,000 Ayr fans, so you were well outnumbered."

Sheriff McGowan also praised the police for their handling of the incident.

Officers used television pictures and press photographs to identified the ringleaders.

"It is a matter of the utmost importance that football matches in this country should be allowed to progress in a normal manner," added the sheriff.

"It is only a matter of years since the barricades were taken down after the disasters at Hillsborough and Bradford and for the safety of fans at football matches.

"You four behaved like spoiled children who had thrown their toys out of the pram."