Warning before new season as football fan gets ban

A police force says it will "always take action" against violence ahead of the new football season after a man was banned from games.

Tomas Coxe, an Aldershot Town fan, was involved in an altercation over the ejection of two other fans during an away match at Forest Green Rovers' stadium on 21 December, and was later detained by Gloucestershire Police.

Coxe, 46, of Swift Road, Farnham, Hampshire, received a three-year football banning order on 2 July after pleading guilty to a Section 4 Public Order offence.

Mark Smith, Forest Green's safety officer, said: "We will continue to provide our full support to the police to ensure that offenders can be prosecuted when necessary."

During the first half of the game, two men were asked to leave the stadium after they were caught vaping in the toilets, Gloucestershire Police said.

A number of men complained to stewards and security about the ejections before Coxe became increasingly agitated, leading to his ejection.

Coxe lunged forward and began to punch out at the security staff while they were trying to remove him and shouted threats at the stewards, police said.

He was then detained by police officers and was later postal charged. He pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

Along with a ban, Coxe was ordered to take part in 140 hours of community service and pay £200 in compensation to his victims.

PC Adrian Tuft, Gloucestershire Constabulary's dedicated football officer, said: "We will always take action against anyone who thinks they can assault stewards, be it physically or verbally, and get away with their actions.

"Our aim is to always ensure that staff working at, and fans watching, football games can have a safe and enjoyable time."

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