A Dundee FC fan assaulted a woman in a pub after he was accused of making a gesture at a photo of a Dundee United legend.
Greg Taylor allegedly made offensive comments and gestured a pool cue towards a picture of the late Frank Kopel, inside the Snug Bar on Church Street, Dundee.
He then struck his pool partner on the head as he was pushed out of the pub for allegedly disrespecting Mr Kopel.
At Dundee Sheriff Court, Taylor, 32, of Strathmartine Road, admitted assaulting Stacey McQueen.
But his lawyer maintained that he had never made the gesture with his cue or made offensive comments.
Depute fiscal Charmaine Gilmartin told the court the incident happened on September 26 last year, shortly after Taylor had been to a Dundee match.
The fiscal said Taylor began speaking to Ms McQueen, who is also a Dundee fan, along with an off-duty member of the pub’s staff.
Taylor and Ms McQueen then teamed up to play pool with two United fans in a doubles match.
The deputy fiscal said: “The accused was playing pool on the same team as the complainer, and at some point an argument broke out between the two of them about the game.
“There is a suggestion that the accused disrespected a picture of Frank Kopel, which is in the pool area of the bar, and gestured towards it with his cue.
“He was asked to leave by members of staff and pushed out of the bar.
“The accused reacted by lashing out, during which he struck the complainer on the face.”
Ms McQueen sustained facial swelling. Solicitor Larry Flynn, defending, said: “The complainer and the accused were on a team together and all started off in good spirits.
“There seems to have been a confrontational situation where he is accused of making an offensive gesture towards the picture which he still maintains he did not do. He was thrown out of the bar and accepts he pushed the complainer and struck her face during that. He has not been back to the bar since.”
He was fined £400 and ordered to pay Ms McQueen £200 in compensation.
United defender Mr Kopel died in 2014, at the age of 65, after a battle with dementia.