Leigh Griffiths fined for kicking flare into crowd during match

Leigh Griffiths was playing for Dundee at the time of the incident

Former Scotland and Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths has been fined a total of £17,000 for kicking a smoking flare into a crowd of rival supporters.

The player admitted endangering St Johnstone fans during a League Cup match while he was playing for Dundee.

A court was told Griffiths was on loan from Celtic and was fined £15,000, two weeks wages, by the club.

He was also fined £1,000 by Dundee, and received a further £1,000 fine at Dundee Sheriff Court.

Griffiths had flown back from Australia for the court appearance and will return for promotion play-offs with his current team Mandurah City this weekend.

The court was told Griffiths is currently playing for nothing and the outcome of the court case would have a bearing on whether he would be granted a visa for longer-term work in Australia.

Griffiths, 33, previously admitted acting in a culpable and reckless way by kicking the pyrotechnic device into a group of 1,800 away fans on 22 September 2021.

He admitted striking David Soutar with the smoke bomb. The device stained Mr Soutar's jeans but did not cause injury.

Depute fiscal Lora Apostolova told the court that St Johnstone scored a goal and two smoke bombs had landed on the pitch.

She said: "The accused ran from about 40 yards away towards the area where the smoke bombs landed and kicked one towards the stand where the St Johnstone fans were."

She said the flare flew into a crowd of people and struck Mr Soutar at the bottom of his leg. She said fans captured the incident on their phones as they filmed the post-goal celebrations.

Solicitor Larry Flynn, defending, said Griffiths was frustrated by the smoke bomb holding up the re-start of the match.

He said the steward who would have cleared the device had not been given the go-ahead to do so.

Apologised for distress

Mr Flynn told the court Griffiths had apologised for the incident prior to the police becoming involved.

Griffiths said: "It is regrettable it ended up in the stand.

"My intention was to move it from the pitch.

"Having just lost a goal I was eager to get the match re-started as quick as possible and I would like to apologise for the distress caused by my actions."

Sheriff Way said: "No-one was harmed and I accept he wasn't doing it as revenge or to stir up the enemy.

"I am conscious of the fact the game now seems to be driven by money.

"It seems appropriate that he has suffered financial penalties here."