Under-siege police used horses to break up rioting St Johnstone fans during violent scenes outside McDiarmid Park.
A group of around 30 Saints supporters charged fences and threw fireworks and smoke bombs at officers and stewards, while shouting slogans including: “F*** the police.”
The men – many masked and wearing balaclavas – were at the ground to celebrate the team’s historic Scottish Cup win in May, last year.
Father-of-three Anthony Green appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted his role in the disturbance.
The 43-year-old, who pled guilty to a breach of the peace charge, was fined £3,000.
A sheriff ruled that he could not ban him from football matches because the offence did not happen during a game.
Behaviour ‘defies understanding’
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis told Green: “This sort of behaviour needs to be stamped out.”
He said, as a regular attendee of matches, he should have known the group’s actions – which lasted for about an hour – were unacceptable.
“Notwithstanding that, you didn’t clear off,” the sheriff said.
“Instead, you associated yourself with this group who were behaving in an appalling manner – a manner which, quite frankly, defies understanding if they are truly supporters of St Johnstone Football Club.”
The sheriff said he decided against imposing a community payback order, because “the personnel at criminal justice services have more than enough on their plate, dealing with the backlog from the Covid pandemic”.
He said: “I’m going to deal with this matter with a monetary penalty but it has to be very significant.”
Fining Green £3,000, the sheriff added: “There is no question of a football banning order in this instance.
“By my reading of the legislation it cannot be imposed because this is not related to an actual football match taking place, it is something that happened after the game.”
Masked men amongst the trees
Fiscal depute Andrew Harding told the court: “At about 5.45pm on May 22, police officers attended at the ground for a planned deployment in relation to the cup final celebrations.
“At that time, there was a small number of supporters outside the stadium.”
He said: “A member of the public walked through the car park at the crematorium.
“She noticed approximately 30 males within the trees.
“Many of them were wearing facemasks and balaclavas.
“One of the men – not necessarily the accused – was holding a box of fireworks.”
Mr Harding said: “The group made their way on to a grass verge, directly opposite the north gate.
“Members of the group threw flares towards the gate.
“Prior to the team bus arriving, a decision was made that the entry points would be policed by pedestrian constables.
“There was also approximately six stewards.”
Flares and smoke bombs
The prosecutor said: “The member of the public who was with the group decided to leave, given that the males were becoming rowdy and aggressive.
“She was with her young nephews and she thought the language being used by the group was unacceptable.”
The group was heard shouting: “F*** the police,” Mr Harding said.
When the players’ bus arrived at the north gate just before 7pm, the group of fans began hurling flares on to the road.
Stewards managed to open the gate to let the coach through, while flares continued to be thrown.
“Stewards and police officers had to withdraw behind temporary fencing,” said Mr Harding.
“The group, including the accused, came through the perimeter security gate and approached the temporary fence.
“Several members of the group began to kick, strike and force their way through the fencing.
“While all of this was happening, the group was shouting abuse towards stewards.”
Call for back-up
The fiscal depute said: “Stewards and police had to physically hold the gate closed.
“The group was seen to throw multiple items.
“The accused threw a smoke bomb over the fence in the direction of stewards and police.”
Police called for back-up and requested assistance from Public Order Officers.
“A mounted unit attended,” said Mr Harding.
“Stewards and police officers opened the temporary fencing to allow the horses to move forward.
“That drove the group backwards and out of the north gate.”
Acted ‘foolishly’
The court heard Green was one of only two people in the group not wearing a mask.
Solicitor Linda Clark, defending, said: “He stands out in the video footage from that day.
“He was wearing a fairly bright pair of trousers, while others had their hoods up and masks on.
“If anyone was going to be picked out, it was him.”
She said: “He had been watching football with a friend earlier that day and he accepts that he had consumed alcohol.
“Someone suggested going up to meet the team bus.”
Ms Clark said: “He had to watch the video footage today two or three times to satisfy himself that he had a smoke bomb in his hand and he had thrown it.
“He could not believe he had acted so foolishly.”
She told the court: “The other members of the group were much younger and Mr Green accepts that he should have simply left them to it and move away from the area.
“He is embarrassed by all of this.”
Sheriff Foulis was told a football ban imposed as a bail condition – after Green’s first court appearance – meant he could not see his son play for a junior team at McDiarmid Park.
Green, of Ethel Moorhead Place, pled guilty to, while acting with others, behaving in a disorderly manner, forming part of a disorderly crowd, shouting, swearing, throwing a quantity of flares or similar items at police and security officers, throwing a smoke bomb or another pyrotechnic at police and security officers, forcing through a perimeter gate, push and damage a security fence and committing a breach of the peace.
Trouble after League Cup win
He was amongst a group of supporters who went to the stadium to welcome players back from their League Cup victory at Hampden Park.
Lorimer, who led about 40 younger fans in a hostile and aggressive clash with police and stadium stewards, was fined, sentenced to unpaid work and banned from football matches for two years.
