Criminal charges against a young St Johnstone fan accused of being part of a rioting mob at McDiarmid Stadium have been dropped.
Adrian Venter was due to stand trial at Perth Sheriff Court earlier this week.
The 20-year-old was one of several men charged in connection with alleged disorder on the night of the Saints’ historic Scottish Cup win in May 2021.
Venter’s case was formally “not called” on the day of the trial, meaning the matter has been officially shelved.
A Crown Office spokesman confirmed: “After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available admissible evidence, the Prosecutor Fiscal decided that there should be no further proceedings taken at this time.”
He added: “The Crown reserves the right to proceed in the future should further evidence become available.”
Asked if there was a wider review of all cases connected with the same alleged incident, the Crown stated each case is dealt with based on its own individual facts and circumstances.
Trials set
This week, Perth Sheriff Court set separate trial dates in July and October for five other Saints fans accused of “behaving in a threatening or abusive manner” at the stadium.
They are Lewis Macleod, 22, Declan Harvey, 21, Kenzie Harvey, 21, Aiden Edwards, 22, and Lindsay Williamson-Bailey, 27.
Venter and the five accused – as well as others charged with the same alleged incident – denied a charge of forming part of a “disorderly crowd,” shouting, swearing and throwing a quantity of flares at police and security officers who were manning the stadium.
It is alleged they threw smoke bombs and other pyrotechnics at police and security staff, whereby security officer Margaret McKenna was struck by a firework.
They are further accused of having forced their way through a perimeter gate, kicked and damaged a temporary security fence and hurled glass bottles and other items at police and security staff.
Guilty to ‘breach of peace’ charge
The 43-year-old pleaded guilty to a charge of breach of the peace and was fined £3,000.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said that he could not issue a football banning order against Green, because the offence did not happen during a game.
